Norway vs Sweden: Social spending as share of GDP
Norway
0.5%
in 2021
Sweden
0.5%
in 2021
Norway rank
20th
Sweden rank
18th
Social spending as share of GDP over time
- Norway
- Sweden
How they compare
Sweden currently reports 0.5% against 0.5% in Norway, a difference of 0.0%.
The two have swapped places 6 times across 36 shared years of data; in 1980 it was Sweden ahead.
Norway ranks 20th and Sweden ranks 18th of 42 countries.
Across the 5 decades both report, Norway averaged higher in 3 and Sweden in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Norway | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.2% | Norway |
| 1990s | 0.8% | 0.8% | 0.0% | Sweden |
| 2000s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.0% | Norway |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.8% | 0.2% | Sweden |
| 2020s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.0% | Norway |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher social spending as share of gdp, Norway or Sweden?
- Sweden, at 0.5% against 0.5% in Norway as of 2021.
- What is the difference in social spending as share of gdp between Norway and Sweden?
- 0.0%, with Sweden ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Norway and Sweden?
- 36 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2021.
- How do Norway and Sweden rank globally for social spending as share of gdp?
- Norway ranks 20th and Sweden ranks 18th 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.