Social spending as share of GDP in Japan
Japan: Social spending as share of GDP was 0.6% in 2022. ◆ Volatile
Social spending as share of GDP in Japan, 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 Japan stood at 0.6%. That is the highest value across all 43 years on record.
That represents a change of up 11.3% on the previous year and up 110.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, social spending as share of gdp in Japan peaked at 0.6% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1992.
Japan ranks 15th of 42 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Social spending as share of GDP in Japan, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 0.2% | — |
| 1981 | 0.2% | +3.7% |
| 1982 | 0.2% | -2.0% |
| 1983 | 0.2% | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.2% | -1.5% |
| 1985 | 0.2% | -5.8% |
| 1986 | 0.2% | -8.9% |
| 1987 | 0.1% | -9.1% |
| 1988 | 0.1% | -9.4% |
| 1989 | 0.1% | -10.4% |
| 1990 | 0.1% | -9.1% |
| 1991 | 0.1% | -5.5% |
| 1992 | 0.1% | -4.8% |
| 1993 | 0.1% | +5.1% |
| 1994 | 0.1% | +30.8% |
| 1995 | 0.1% | +2.9% |
| 1996 | 0.1% | -25.7% |
| 1997 | 0.1% | +2.9% |
| 1998 | 0.1% | +7.5% |
| 1999 | 0.1% | +7.0% |
| 2000 | 0.1% | +5.7% |
| 2001 | 0.1% | +9.2% |
| 2002 | 0.2% | +9.2% |
| 2003 | 0.2% | +6.5% |
| 2004 | 0.2% | +4.8% |
| 2005 | 0.2% | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 0.2% | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 0.2% | +4.0% |
| 2008 | 0.2% | +6.6% |
| 2009 | 0.2% | +24.9% |
| 2010 | 0.3% | +4.6% |
| 2011 | 0.4% | +73.8% |
| 2012 | 0.3% | -31.7% |
| 2013 | 0.3% | -4.3% |
| 2014 | 0.3% | +12.2% |
| 2015 | 0.3% | +6.5% |
| 2016 | 0.4% | +23.4% |
| 2017 | 0.4% | -16.6% |
| 2018 | 0.3% | -19.0% |
| 2019 | 0.3% | +8.4% |
| 2020 | 0.4% | +14.6% |
| 2021 | 0.6% | +59.3% |
| 2022 | 0.6% | +11.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More economy & growth data for Japan
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.03 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 0.4463 Percent per annum (2029)
- Exports of goods and services (current LCU), annual growth rate 7.45 % change on previous year (2024)
- Exports of goods and services (current LCU), per unit of GDP 33.27 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Exports of goods and services (current LCU), per capita 1.12 million current LCU per person (2024)
- Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 0.9068 % change on previous year (2024)
- Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.2217 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Exports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), per capita 7,492 constant 2015 US$ per person (2024)
- Gross fixed capital formation (current US$), annual growth rate -4.56 % change on previous year (2024)
- Gross fixed capital formation (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2781 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is social spending as share of gdp in Japan?
- Social spending as share of gdp in Japan was 0.6% 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 Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 0.6% in 2022.
- What is the lowest social spending as share of gdp recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1992.
- How does Japan rank for social spending as share of gdp?
- Japan ranks 15th out of 42 countries with data for 2022.
- Is social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 110.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Japan 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.