Germany vs Norway: Government spending as share of GDP
Germany
49.4%
in 2024
Norway
48.5%
in 2024
Germany rank
13th
Norway rank
16th
Government spending as share of GDP over time
- Germany
- Norway
How they compare
Germany currently reports 49.4% against 48.5% in Norway, a difference of 0.9%.
The two have swapped places 12 times across 118 shared years of data; in 1881 it was Germany ahead.
Germany ranks 13th and Norway ranks 16th of 151 countries.
Across the 14 decades both report, Germany averaged higher in 10 and Norway in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Germany | Norway | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 13.4% | 6.5% | 7.0% | Germany |
| 1890s | 16.8% | 8.1% | 8.6% | Germany |
| 1900s | 18.1% | 9.5% | 8.7% | Germany |
| 1910s | 23.4% | 9.4% | 14.1% | Germany |
| 1920s | 13.5% | 9.2% | 4.3% | Germany |
| 1930s | 13.1% | 8.6% | 4.5% | Germany |
| 1950s | 29.5% | 16.7% | 12.8% | Germany |
| 1960s | 28.3% | 30.8% | 2.6% | Norway |
| 1970s | 45.5% | 43.7% | 1.8% | Germany |
| 1980s | 47.0% | 47.7% | 0.7% | Norway |
| 1990s | 48.2% | 51.5% | 3.3% | Norway |
| 2000s | 46.4% | 43.8% | 2.6% | Germany |
| 2010s | 45.2% | 46.6% | 1.4% | Norway |
| 2020s | 49.6% | 47.0% | 2.6% | Germany |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher government spending as share of gdp, Germany or Norway?
- Germany, at 49.4% against 48.5% in Norway as of 2024.
- What is the difference in government spending as share of gdp between Germany and Norway?
- 0.9%, with Germany ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and Norway?
- 118 years are reported by both, from 1881 to 2024.
- How do Germany and Norway rank globally for government spending as share of gdp?
- Germany ranks 13th and Norway ranks 16th of 151 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- International Monetary Fund (2025) β with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Government spending as share of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
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.