Which has higher central government spending as share of gdp, Finland or Italy?

Italy, at 47.3% against 44.9% in Finland as of 2023.

How many years of comparable data are there for Finland and Italy?

46 years are reported by both, from 1973 to 2023.

Where does this data come from?

International Monetary Fund (IMF), OECD, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Central government spending as share of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Finland vs Italy: Central government spending as share of GDP

Finland

44.9%

in 2023

Italy

47.3%

in 2023

Finland rank

11th

Italy rank

8th

Central government spending as share of GDP over time

Finland
Italy

How they compare

Italy currently reports 47.3% against 44.9% in Finland, a difference of 2.4%.

That makes Italy's figure about 1.1 times Finland's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 46 shared years of data; in 1973 it was Italy ahead.

Finland ranks 11th and Italy ranks 8th of 157 countries.

Italy has averaged higher in every one of the 6 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Finland	Italy	Difference	Ahead
1970s	24.2%	30.5%	6.3%	Italy
1980s	27.4%	43.4%	16.0%	Italy
1990s	39.2%	45.0%	5.8%	Italy
2000s	34.4%	39.9%	5.5%	Italy
2010s	39.0%	43.0%	3.9%	Italy
2020s	41.1%	48.9%	7.8%	Italy

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher central government spending as share of gdp, Finland or Italy?: Italy, at 47.3% against 44.9% in Finland as of 2023.
What is the difference in central government spending as share of gdp between Finland and Italy?: 2.4%, with Italy ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Finland and Italy?: 46 years are reported by both, from 1973 to 2023.
How do Finland and Italy rank globally for central government spending as share of gdp?: Finland ranks 11th and Italy ranks 8th of 157 countries.
Where does this data come from?: International Monetary Fund (IMF), OECD, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Central government spending as share of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Finland vs Italy: Central government spending as share of GDP. Statizoid, drawing on International Monetary Fund (IMF), OECD, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/compare/total-gov-expenditure-gdp-wdi/finland/italy/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://economy.statizoid.com/compare/total-gov-expenditure-gdp-wdi/finland/italy/">Finland vs Italy: Central government spending as share of GDP</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Central government spending as share of GDP
Unit: % of GDP
Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF), OECD, and World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 157 places, 4,442 data points, 1972–2024
Last refreshed: 28 August 2026

Central government expense (cash payments for operating activities of the government in providing goods and services), as share of GDP. It excludes capital investment, such as infrastructure or equipment.