Finland vs Netherlands: Social spending as share of GDP
Finland
1.0%
in 2021
Netherlands
1.4%
in 2021
Finland rank
8th
Netherlands rank
5th
Social spending as share of GDP over time
- Finland
- Netherlands
How they compare
Netherlands currently reports 1.4% against 1.0% in Finland, a difference of 0.4%.
That makes Netherlands's figure about 1.5 times Finland's.
Across all 42 years both countries report, Netherlands has been ahead every year.
Finland ranks 8th and Netherlands ranks 5th of 42 countries.
Netherlands has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Finland | Netherlands | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.3% | 1.1% | 0.8% | Netherlands |
| 1990s | 0.6% | 1.0% | 0.4% | Netherlands |
| 2000s | 0.5% | 1.2% | 0.6% | Netherlands |
| 2010s | 0.9% | 1.6% | 0.7% | Netherlands |
| 2020s | 1.0% | 1.5% | 0.5% | Netherlands |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher social spending as share of gdp, Finland or Netherlands?
- Netherlands, at 1.4% against 1.0% in Finland as of 2021.
- What is the difference in social spending as share of gdp between Finland and Netherlands?
- 0.4%, with Netherlands ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Finland and Netherlands?
- 42 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2021.
- How do Finland and Netherlands rank globally for social spending as share of gdp?
- Finland ranks 8th and Netherlands ranks 5th of 42 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- OECD (2025) β with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Social 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
Public social expenditure divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage. Includes both in-cash and in-kind benefits in other social policy programs.