Italy vs United Kingdom: Social spending as share of GDP
Italy
1.6%
in 2021
United Kingdom
1.6%
in 2022
Italy rank
4th
United Kingdom rank
3rd
Social spending as share of GDP over time
- Italy
- United Kingdom
How they compare
United Kingdom currently reports 1.6% against 1.6% in Italy, a difference of 0.0%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 42 shared years of data; in 1980 it was United Kingdom ahead.
Italy ranks 4th and United Kingdom ranks 3rd of 42 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Italy averaged higher in 1 and United Kingdom in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Italy | United Kingdom | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.0% | 0.8% | 0.8% | United Kingdom |
| 1990s | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.1% | United Kingdom |
| 2000s | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% | United Kingdom |
| 2010s | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.3% | Italy |
| 2020s | 1.5% | 1.8% | 0.3% | United Kingdom |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher social spending as share of gdp, Italy or United Kingdom?
- United Kingdom, at 1.6% against 1.6% in Italy as of 2022.
- What is the difference in social spending as share of gdp between Italy and United Kingdom?
- 0.0%, with United Kingdom ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Italy and United Kingdom?
- 42 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2021.
- How do Italy and United Kingdom rank globally for social spending as share of gdp?
- Italy ranks 4th and United Kingdom ranks 3rd 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.
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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.