Public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % GDP in Denmark
Denmark: Public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % GDP was 7.51 Percentage of GDP in 2021. ▲ Rising
Public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % GDP in Denmark, 1980–2021
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage of GDP.
Analysis
In 2021, public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp in Denmark stood at 7.51 Percentage of GDP.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.4% on the previous year and up 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp in Denmark peaked at 8.2 Percentage of GDP in 2020 and was at its lowest, 5.42 Percentage of GDP, in 1986.
Denmark ranks 18th of 33 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 42 years of available data.
Public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % GDP in Denmark, year by year
| Year | Percentage of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 5.71 Percentage of GDP | — |
| 1981 | 5.72 Percentage of GDP | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 5.67 Percentage of GDP | -0.8% |
| 1983 | 5.62 Percentage of GDP | -0.8% |
| 1984 | 5.54 Percentage of GDP | -1.4% |
| 1985 | 5.5 Percentage of GDP | -0.7% |
| 1986 | 5.42 Percentage of GDP | -1.5% |
| 1987 | 5.53 Percentage of GDP | +1.9% |
| 1988 | 5.79 Percentage of GDP | +4.7% |
| 1989 | 6.07 Percentage of GDP | +4.7% |
| 1990 | 6.1 Percentage of GDP | +0.6% |
| 1991 | 6.24 Percentage of GDP | +2.3% |
| 1992 | 6.24 Percentage of GDP | -0.0% |
| 1993 | 6.37 Percentage of GDP | +2.0% |
| 1994 | 7.36 Percentage of GDP | +15.5% |
| 1995 | 7.24 Percentage of GDP | -1.6% |
| 1996 | 7.06 Percentage of GDP | -2.5% |
| 1997 | 6.79 Percentage of GDP | -3.8% |
| 1998 | 6.73 Percentage of GDP | -0.9% |
| 1999 | 6.58 Percentage of GDP | -2.3% |
| 2000 | 6.31 Percentage of GDP | -4.0% |
| 2001 | 6.32 Percentage of GDP | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 6.27 Percentage of GDP | -0.8% |
| 2003 | 6.4 Percentage of GDP | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 6.27 Percentage of GDP | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 6.44 Percentage of GDP | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 6.49 Percentage of GDP | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 6.25 Percentage of GDP | -3.7% |
| 2008 | 6.33 Percentage of GDP | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 6.98 Percentage of GDP | +10.2% |
| 2010 | 7.13 Percentage of GDP | +2.1% |
| 2011 | 7.41 Percentage of GDP | +3.9% |
| 2012 | 7.62 Percentage of GDP | +2.8% |
| 2013 | 7.8 Percentage of GDP | +2.4% |
| 2014 | 7.97 Percentage of GDP | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 8.08 Percentage of GDP | +1.3% |
| 2016 | 7.91 Percentage of GDP | -2.1% |
| 2017 | 7.98 Percentage of GDP | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 8.07 Percentage of GDP | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 8.15 Percentage of GDP | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 8.2 Percentage of GDP | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 7.51 Percentage of GDP | -8.4% |
Denmark compared with similar countries
- Denmark's 7.51 Percentage of GDP is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 8.85 Percentage of GDP, 85% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
- Denmark's 7.51 Percentage of GDP is below the median for high income countries, which is 7.99 Percentage of GDP, 94% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5.66 Percentage of GDP | 5.42 Percentage of GDP | 6.07 Percentage of GDP | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.67 Percentage of GDP | 6.1 Percentage of GDP | 7.36 Percentage of GDP | 10 |
| 2000s | 6.41 Percentage of GDP | 6.25 Percentage of GDP | 6.98 Percentage of GDP | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.81 Percentage of GDP | 7.13 Percentage of GDP | 8.15 Percentage of GDP | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.86 Percentage of GDP | 7.51 Percentage of GDP | 8.2 Percentage of GDP | 2 |
Countries ranked near Denmark
- 15 OECD 8.04 Percentage of GDP compare
- 16 Sweden 7.99 Percentage of GDP compare
- 17 Hungary 7.62 Percentage of GDP compare
- 19 United States of America 7.31 Percentage of GDP compare
- 20 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 7.07 Percentage of GDP compare
- 21 Switzerland 6.56 Percentage of GDP compare
More economy & growth data for Denmark
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 0.9574 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 1.4 Percent per annum (2029)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), gaps 30.70 billion BoP, current US$ (2024)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0.0723 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per capita 5,136 BoP, current US$ per person (2024)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), gaps filled 18.24 billion BoP, current US$ (2024)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), annual 121.54 % change on previous year (2024)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0.043 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per capita 3,052 BoP, current US$ per person (2024)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), annual growth rate 17.85 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp in Denmark?
- Public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp in Denmark was 7.51 Percentage of GDP in 2021, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp recorded in Denmark?
- The highest recorded value was 8.2 Percentage of GDP in 2020.
- What is the lowest public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp recorded in Denmark?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.42 Percentage of GDP in 1986.
- How does Denmark rank for public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp?
- Denmark ranks 18th out of 33 countries with data for 2021.
- Is public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp rising or falling in Denmark?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Denmark data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % GDP — Social expenditure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
The OECD Social Expenditure Database (SOCX) has been developed in order to serve a growing need for indicators of social policy. It includes reliable and internationally comparable statistics on public and mandatory and voluntary private social expenditure at programme level. SOCX provides a unique tool for monitoring trends in aggregate social expenditure and analysing changes in its composition. It covers 38 OECD countries and some accession countries for the period 1980-2021/23 and estimates for aggregates for 2022-24. A Social Expenditure Update can be found under www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/social-expenditure-database-socx.htm. The main social policy areas are as follows: Old age, Survivors, Incapacity-related benefits, Health, Family, Active labor market programmes, Unemployment, Housing, and Other social policy areas. This version also includes estimates of net total social spending for 2021 for 38 OECD countries. SOCX aggregated data as well as sources and methodology are described in The OECD SOCX Manual – 2019 edition- A guide to the OECD Social Expenditure Database.