Denmark vs Norway: Government spending as share of GDP

Denmark

47.3%

in 2024

Norway

48.5%

in 2024

Denmark rank

19th

Norway rank

16th

Government spending as share of GDP over time

Norway currently reports 48.5% against 47.3% in Denmark, a difference of 1.1%.

The two have swapped places 22 times across 138 shared years of data; in 1881 it was Norway ahead.

Denmark ranks 19th and Norway ranks 16th of 151 countries.

Indicator: Government spending as share of GDP
Unit: % of GDP
Source: International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 151 places, 9,265 data points, 1800–2024
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

The sum of all the money spent by the government on goods and services, as a percentage of GDP. It includes interest paid on government debt.