Social spending as share of GDP in Estonia
Estonia: Social spending as share of GDP was 0.1% in 2021. ◆ Volatile
Social spending as share of GDP in Estonia, 1999–2021
Source: OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2021, social spending as share of gdp in Estonia stood at 0.1%. That is the lowest value across all 23 years on record.
The figure is down 13.6% on the previous year and down 64.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, social spending as share of gdp in Estonia peaked at 0.3% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 2021.
That places Estonia 42nd out of 42 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Social spending as share of GDP in Estonia, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 0.3% | — |
| 2000 | 0.3% | -14.8% |
| 2001 | 0.3% | +4.7% |
| 2002 | 0.2% | -13.5% |
| 2003 | 0.2% | -20.0% |
| 2004 | 0.1% | -31.0% |
| 2005 | 0.1% | -13.8% |
| 2006 | 0.2% | +31.9% |
| 2007 | 0.1% | -54.8% |
| 2008 | 0.1% | +4.2% |
| 2009 | 0.1% | +52.7% |
| 2010 | 0.1% | +26.5% |
| 2011 | 0.1% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 0.1% | -18.9% |
| 2013 | 0.1% | -12.1% |
| 2014 | 0.1% | -3.9% |
| 2015 | 0.1% | -11.2% |
| 2016 | 0.1% | +12.6% |
| 2017 | 0.1% | -20.4% |
| 2018 | 0.1% | -14.1% |
| 2019 | 0.1% | -9.0% |
| 2020 | 0.1% | -3.3% |
| 2021 | 0.1% | -13.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Estonia
More economy & growth data for Estonia
- Final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$), per capita 15,183 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (current US$), annual growth rate 9.01 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.9897 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (current US$), per capita 34,062 current US$ per person (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (current LCU), annual growth rate 4.41 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (current LCU), per unit of GDP 0.8758 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (current LCU), per capita 30,143 current LCU per person (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 1.85 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.5997 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross national expenditure (constant 2015 US$), per capita 20,640 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is social spending as share of gdp in Estonia?
- Social spending as share of gdp in Estonia was 0.1% 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 Estonia?
- The highest recorded value was 0.3% in 1999.
- What is the lowest social spending as share of gdp recorded in Estonia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 2021.
- How does Estonia rank for social spending as share of gdp?
- Estonia ranks 42nd out of 42 countries with data for 2021.
- Is social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Estonia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 64.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Estonia 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 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.