Social spending as share of GDP by country
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.
What the numbers show
Social spending as share of GDP is currently reported for 42 countries. The highest value is 2.4% in Canada; the lowest is 0.1% in Estonia.
The median across all reporting countries is 0.5%, and the mean is 0.6%.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 47.
Over the past decade 21 countries rose and 21 fell. The largest increase was in Greece (up 38,200.0%), and the largest decrease in Ireland (down 75.5%).
Social spending as share of GDP: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada | 2.4% | 2022 | up 8.5% | falling |
| 2 | New Zealand | 2.4% | 2022 | up 34.3% | volatile |
| 3 | United Kingdom | 1.6% | 2022 | up 931.0% | volatile |
| 4 | Italy | 1.6% | 2021 | up 1,157.3% | volatile |
| 5 | Netherlands | 1.4% | 2021 | down 15.0% | rising |
| 6 | Denmark | 1.1% | 2021 | down 10.1% | rising |
| 7 | France | 1.1% | 2022 | up 40.1% | volatile |
| 8 | Finland | 1.0% | 2021 | up 21.4% | rising |
| 9 | Iceland | 1.0% | 2021 | up 63.3% | rising |
| 10 | South Korea | 0.9% | 2022 | up 123.0% | volatile |
| 11 | Slovenia | 0.8% | 2021 | up 47.1% | rising |
| 12 | United States | 0.8% | 2023 | down 11.8% | rising |
| 13 | Mexico | 0.7% | 2023 | up 38.8% | rising |
| 14 | Belgium | 0.6% | 2021 | down 18.8% | rising |
| 15 | Japan | 0.6% | 2022 | up 110.0% | volatile |
| 16 | Chile | 0.6% | 2023 | up 63.6% | volatile |
| 17 | Austria | 0.6% | 2021 | up 39.8% | rising |
| 18 | Sweden | 0.5% | 2021 | down 18.4% | rising |
| 19 | Luxembourg | 0.5% | 2021 | down 0.6% | rising |
| 20 | Norway | 0.5% | 2021 | down 13.2% | falling |
| 21 | Israel | 0.5% | 2023 | down 21.2% | falling |
| 22 | Switzerland | 0.5% | 2021 | up 21.4% | falling |
| 23 | Spain | 0.4% | 2021 | up 105.7% | volatile |
| 24 | Greece | 0.4% | 2021 | up 38,200.0% | volatile |
| 25 | Colombia | 0.4% | 2023 | down 34.3% | falling |
| 26 | Bulgaria | 0.3% | 2021 | up 14.2% | falling |
| 27 | Lithuania | 0.3% | 2021 | down 62.2% | falling |
| 28 | Croatia | 0.2% | 2021 | up 8.0% | rising |
| 29 | Portugal | 0.2% | 2021 | down 25.2% | volatile |
| 29 | Australia | 0.2% | 2022 | down 23.7% | rising |
| 31 | Germany | 0.2% | 2021 | up 57.6% | volatile |
| 32 | Peru | 0.1% | 2023 | up 118.3% | rising |
| 33 | Slovakia | 0.1% | 2021 | down 67.4% | volatile |
| 34 | Poland | 0.1% | 2021 | down 16.4% | falling |
| 35 | Latvia | 0.1% | 2021 | down 54.1% | volatile |
| 36 | Hungary | 0.1% | 2021 | up 8.2% | falling |
| 37 | Romania | 0.1% | 2021 | down 57.9% | volatile |
| 38 | Czechia | 0.1% | 2021 | down 41.7% | volatile |
| 39 | Ireland | 0.1% | 2021 | down 75.5% | flat |
| 40 | Turkey | 0.1% | 2021 | down 42.1% | volatile |
| 41 | Costa Rica | 0.1% | 2022 | down 17.3% | volatile |
| 42 | Estonia | 0.1% | 2021 | down 64.3% | volatile |
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.