Social spending as share of GDP in Australia
Australia: Social spending as share of GDP was 0.2% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Social spending as share of GDP in Australia, 1980–2022
Source: OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2022, social spending as share of gdp in Australia stood at 0.2%.
That represents a change of down 17.1% on the previous year and down 23.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, social spending as share of gdp in Australia peaked at 0.4% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 2007.
Australia ranks 29th of 42 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 43 years of available data.
Social spending as share of GDP in Australia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 0.2% | — |
| 1981 | 0.1% | -11.1% |
| 1982 | 0.2% | +16.0% |
| 1983 | 0.2% | +5.4% |
| 1984 | 0.2% | +8.5% |
| 1985 | 0.2% | -6.8% |
| 1986 | 0.2% | +10.1% |
| 1987 | 0.3% | +48.0% |
| 1988 | 0.3% | +6.6% |
| 1989 | 0.3% | -8.1% |
| 1990 | 0.4% | +30.3% |
| 1991 | 0.4% | +3.8% |
| 1992 | 0.4% | -5.2% |
| 1993 | 0.2% | -51.6% |
| 1994 | 0.2% | +3.4% |
| 1995 | 0.2% | -6.0% |
| 1996 | 0.1% | -14.0% |
| 1997 | 0.1% | -0.7% |
| 1998 | 0.2% | +18.5% |
| 1999 | 0.1% | -15.0% |
| 2000 | 0.2% | +7.5% |
| 2001 | 0.1% | -14.6% |
| 2002 | 0.2% | +14.1% |
| 2003 | 0.1% | -8.4% |
| 2004 | 0.1% | -5.7% |
| 2005 | 0.1% | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 0.1% | -6.7% |
| 2007 | 0.1% | -32.5% |
| 2008 | 0.1% | +44.7% |
| 2009 | 0.2% | +86.2% |
| 2010 | 0.2% | +7.0% |
| 2011 | 0.3% | +5.3% |
| 2012 | 0.2% | -6.6% |
| 2013 | 0.3% | +4.6% |
| 2014 | 0.3% | +28.2% |
| 2015 | 0.3% | +2.8% |
| 2016 | 0.3% | -13.0% |
| 2017 | 0.3% | -7.6% |
| 2018 | 0.2% | -11.2% |
| 2019 | 0.3% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | 0.3% | +13.4% |
| 2021 | 0.2% | -35.8% |
| 2022 | 0.2% | -17.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More economy & growth data for Australia
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.36 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 2.26 Percent per annum (2029)
- Gross capital formation (current US$), annual growth rate 2.94 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross capital formation (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2446 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross capital formation (current US$), per capita 15,931 current US$ per person (2025)
- Gross capital formation (current LCU), annual growth rate 4.28 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross capital formation (current LCU), per unit of GDP 0.3779 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross capital formation (current LCU), per capita 24,616 current LCU per person (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$), annual growth rate 2.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2266 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is social spending as share of gdp in Australia?
- Social spending as share of gdp in Australia was 0.2% in 2022, according to OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest social spending as share of gdp recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 0.4% in 1991.
- What is the lowest social spending as share of gdp recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 2007.
- How does Australia rank for social spending as share of gdp?
- Australia ranks 29th out of 42 countries with data for 2022.
- Is social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Social spending as share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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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.