Government spending as share of GDP in Greece

Greece: Government spending as share of GDP was 48.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
48.0%
Change on year
down 3.1%
World rank
18th
of 151 countries
All-time high
59.3%
in 2020
All-time low
15.2%
in 1882
Years of data
124
1880–2024

Government spending as share of GDP in Greece, 1880–2024

2030405060188019522024

Source: International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.

Analysis

Greece recorded 48.0% for government spending as share of gdp in 2024.

The figure is down 3.1% on the previous year and down 6.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government spending as share of gdp in Greece peaked at 59.3% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 15.2%, in 1882.

Greece ranks 18th of 151 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 124 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1880s 22.2% 15.2% 31.1% 10
1890s 22.3% 15.4% 51.4% 10
1900s 18.6% 17.4% 20.6% 10
1910s 19.2% 17.7% 20.1% 4
1920s 26.3% 17.7% 40.8% 3
1930s 22.3% 18.9% 30.4% 10
1940s 22.9% 21.5% 24.4% 2
1950s 22.6% 17.6% 29.3% 10
1960s 22.4% 19.3% 29.7% 10
1970s 27.0% 24.1% 30.1% 10
1980s 31.4% 24.5% 34.8% 10
1990s 41.9% 35.2% 48.0% 10
2000s 48.6% 45.9% 54.8% 10
2010s 51.4% 47.6% 55.1% 10
2020s 53.3% 48.0% 59.3% 5

Countries ranked near Greece

  1. 15 Sweden 49.3% compare
  2. 16 Norway 48.5% compare
  3. 17 Croatia 48.0% compare
  4. 19 Denmark 47.3% compare
  5. 20 Slovakia 47.1% compare
  6. 21 Hungary 46.9% compare

See the full ranking of 151 places →

More economy & growth data for Greece

All data for Greece →

Frequently asked questions

What is government spending as share of gdp in Greece?
Government spending as share of gdp in Greece was 48.0% in 2024, according to International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest government spending as share of gdp recorded in Greece?
The highest recorded value was 59.3% in 2020.
What is the lowest government spending as share of gdp recorded in Greece?
The lowest recorded value was 15.2% in 1882.
How does Greece rank for government spending as share of gdp?
Greece ranks 18th out of 151 countries with data for 2024.
Is government spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Greece?
Over the last ten years it is down 6.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Greece data come from?
The figures come from International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Government spending as share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 124 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Government spending as share of GDP
Unit
% of GDP
Source
International Monetary Fund (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
151 places, 9,265 data points, 1800–2024
Last refreshed

The sum of all the money spent by the government on goods and services, as a percentage of GDP. It includes interest paid on government debt.