New Zealand vs United Kingdom: Social spending as share of GDP
New Zealand
2.4%
in 2022
United Kingdom
1.6%
in 2022
New Zealand rank
2nd
United Kingdom rank
3rd
Social spending as share of GDP over time
- New Zealand
- United Kingdom
How they compare
New Zealand currently reports 2.4% against 1.6% in United Kingdom, a difference of 0.8%.
That makes New Zealand's figure about 1.4 times United Kingdom's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 43 shared years of data; in 1980 it was United Kingdom ahead.
New Zealand ranks 2nd and United Kingdom ranks 3rd of 42 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, New Zealand averaged higher in 4 and United Kingdom in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | New Zealand | United Kingdom | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.6% | 0.8% | 0.2% | United Kingdom |
| 1990s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% | New Zealand |
| 2000s | 1.1% | 0.2% | 0.9% | New Zealand |
| 2010s | 1.7% | 0.2% | 1.5% | New Zealand |
| 2020s | 2.2% | 1.7% | 0.5% | New Zealand |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher social spending as share of gdp, New Zealand or United Kingdom?
- New Zealand, at 2.4% against 1.6% in United Kingdom as of 2022.
- What is the difference in social spending as share of gdp between New Zealand and United Kingdom?
- 0.8%, with New Zealand ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for New Zealand and United Kingdom?
- 43 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2022.
- How do New Zealand and United Kingdom rank globally for social spending as share of gdp?
- New Zealand ranks 2nd 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.
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.