Social spending as share of GDP in Belgium
Belgium: Social spending as share of GDP was 0.6% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Social spending as share of GDP in Belgium, 1980–2021
Source: OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Belgium recorded 0.6% for social spending as share of gdp in 2021.
The figure is down 30.6% on the previous year and down 18.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, social spending as share of gdp in Belgium peaked at 0.9% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 1989.
Belgium ranks 14th of 42 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.
Social spending as share of GDP in Belgium, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 0.2% | — |
| 1981 | 0.3% | +7.6% |
| 1982 | 0.3% | -0.7% |
| 1983 | 0.3% | +3.0% |
| 1984 | 0.3% | -5.5% |
| 1985 | 0.3% | -2.7% |
| 1986 | 0.2% | -1.2% |
| 1987 | 0.3% | +2.0% |
| 1988 | 0.2% | -18.1% |
| 1989 | 0.2% | -3.4% |
| 1990 | 0.5% | +128.4% |
| 1991 | 0.5% | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 0.5% | +13.6% |
| 1993 | 0.6% | +6.5% |
| 1994 | 0.5% | -11.3% |
| 1995 | 0.7% | +39.3% |
| 1996 | 0.7% | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 0.4% | -40.8% |
| 1998 | 0.4% | -1.5% |
| 1999 | 0.4% | -3.2% |
| 2000 | 0.7% | +77.3% |
| 2001 | 0.7% | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 0.8% | +12.0% |
| 2003 | 0.8% | +6.3% |
| 2004 | 0.8% | -5.7% |
| 2005 | 0.8% | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 0.8% | -3.8% |
| 2007 | 0.7% | -2.2% |
| 2008 | 0.7% | -3.5% |
| 2009 | 0.8% | +10.9% |
| 2010 | 0.8% | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 0.8% | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | -9.8% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 0.6% | -11.0% |
| 2015 | 0.6% | -3.5% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | +7.5% |
| 2017 | 0.7% | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 0.7% | +2.4% |
| 2019 | 0.7% | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 0.9% | +36.0% |
| 2021 | 0.6% | -30.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8% | 0.6% | 0.9% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
More economy & growth data for Belgium
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.04 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 1.25 Percent per annum (2029)
- Exports of goods and services (current LCU), annual growth rate -1.49 % change on previous year (2025)
- Exports of goods and services (current LCU), per unit of GDP 0.6677 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Exports of goods and services (current LCU), per capita 40,564 current LCU per person (2025)
- Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate -0.2874 % change on previous year (2025)
- Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.5859 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per capita 35,593 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Gross fixed capital formation (current US$), annual growth rate 6.41 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross fixed capital formation (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2389 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is social spending as share of gdp in Belgium?
- Social spending as share of gdp in Belgium was 0.6% in 2021, according to OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest social spending as share of gdp recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 0.9% in 2020.
- What is the lowest social spending as share of gdp recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 1989.
- How does Belgium rank for social spending as share of gdp?
- Belgium ranks 14th out of 42 countries with data for 2021.
- Is social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Belgium 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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CSV · JSON — 42 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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.