Public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % GDP in United States
United States: Public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % GDP was 7.31 Percentage of GDP in 2023. ▲ Rising
Public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % GDP in United States, 1980–2023
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage of GDP.
Analysis
United States recorded 7.31 Percentage of GDP for public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.1% on the previous year and up 6.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp in United States peaked at 7.37 Percentage of GDP in 2020 and was at its lowest, 5.65 Percentage of GDP, in 2000.
That places United States 19th out of 33 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 44 years of available data.
Public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % GDP in United States, year by year
| Year | Percentage of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 5.97 Percentage of GDP | — |
| 1981 | 6.24 Percentage of GDP | +4.5% |
| 1982 | 6.56 Percentage of GDP | +5.2% |
| 1983 | 6.49 Percentage of GDP | -1.1% |
| 1984 | 6.21 Percentage of GDP | -4.3% |
| 1985 | 6.03 Percentage of GDP | -3.0% |
| 1986 | 6.04 Percentage of GDP | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 5.95 Percentage of GDP | -1.4% |
| 1988 | 5.92 Percentage of GDP | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 5.83 Percentage of GDP | -1.5% |
| 1990 | 5.84 Percentage of GDP | +0.2% |
| 1991 | 6.07 Percentage of GDP | +4.0% |
| 1992 | 6.11 Percentage of GDP | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 6.11 Percentage of GDP | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 6.06 Percentage of GDP | -0.9% |
| 1995 | 6.04 Percentage of GDP | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 5.96 Percentage of GDP | -1.4% |
| 1997 | 5.93 Percentage of GDP | -0.5% |
| 1998 | 5.82 Percentage of GDP | -1.9% |
| 1999 | 5.68 Percentage of GDP | -2.4% |
| 2000 | 5.65 Percentage of GDP | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 5.73 Percentage of GDP | +1.3% |
| 2002 | 5.86 Percentage of GDP | +2.3% |
| 2003 | 5.87 Percentage of GDP | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 5.8 Percentage of GDP | -1.1% |
| 2005 | 5.74 Percentage of GDP | -1.0% |
| 2006 | 5.71 Percentage of GDP | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 5.78 Percentage of GDP | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 5.93 Percentage of GDP | +2.6% |
| 2009 | 6.5 Percentage of GDP | +9.6% |
| 2010 | 6.59 Percentage of GDP | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 6.68 Percentage of GDP | +1.4% |
| 2012 | 6.73 Percentage of GDP | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 6.87 Percentage of GDP | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 6.92 Percentage of GDP | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 6.98 Percentage of GDP | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 7.1 Percentage of GDP | +1.6% |
| 2017 | 7.04 Percentage of GDP | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 7 Percentage of GDP | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 7.04 Percentage of GDP | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 7.37 Percentage of GDP | +4.6% |
| 2021 | 7.14 Percentage of GDP | -3.0% |
| 2022 | 7.09 Percentage of GDP | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 7.31 Percentage of GDP | +3.1% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 7.31 Percentage of GDP is below the median for high income countries, which is 7.99 Percentage of GDP, 92% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 6.12 Percentage of GDP | 5.83 Percentage of GDP | 6.56 Percentage of GDP | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.96 Percentage of GDP | 5.68 Percentage of GDP | 6.11 Percentage of GDP | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.86 Percentage of GDP | 5.65 Percentage of GDP | 6.5 Percentage of GDP | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.9 Percentage of GDP | 6.59 Percentage of GDP | 7.1 Percentage of GDP | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.23 Percentage of GDP | 7.09 Percentage of GDP | 7.37 Percentage of GDP | 4 |
Countries ranked near United States
More economy & growth data for United States
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.63 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 2.12 Percent per annum (2029)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), gaps 422.23 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0.0137 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per capita 1,235 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), gaps filled 400.52 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), annual 34.83 % change on previous year (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit 0.013 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per capita 1,172 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), annual growth rate 52.24 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp in United States?
- Public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp in United States was 7.31 Percentage of GDP in 2023, 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 United States?
- The highest recorded value was 7.37 Percentage of GDP in 2020.
- What is the lowest public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.65 Percentage of GDP in 2000.
- How does United States rank for public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp?
- United States ranks 19th out of 33 countries with data for 2023.
- Is public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States 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.