Social spending as share of GDP in Netherlands
Netherlands: Social spending as share of GDP was 1.4% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Social spending as share of GDP in Netherlands, 1980–2021
Source: OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for social spending as share of gdp in Netherlands is 1.4%, measured in 2021.
The figure is down 4.8% on the previous year and down 15.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, social spending as share of gdp in Netherlands peaked at 1.9% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 1993.
Netherlands ranks 5th of 42 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 42 years of available data.
Social spending as share of GDP in Netherlands, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 1.2% | — |
| 1981 | 1.3% | +9.4% |
| 1982 | 1.4% | +8.0% |
| 1983 | 1.4% | +1.8% |
| 1984 | 1.3% | -5.9% |
| 1985 | 0.9% | -34.6% |
| 1986 | 0.8% | -6.2% |
| 1987 | 0.8% | -6.0% |
| 1988 | 0.8% | +2.7% |
| 1989 | 0.7% | -10.2% |
| 1990 | 0.8% | +7.6% |
| 1991 | 0.8% | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.7% | -3.4% |
| 1993 | 0.7% | -8.0% |
| 1994 | 0.7% | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 1.5% | +120.6% |
| 1996 | 1.5% | -3.8% |
| 1997 | 1.3% | -8.3% |
| 1998 | 1.2% | -7.7% |
| 1999 | 1.1% | -6.8% |
| 2000 | 1.1% | -7.2% |
| 2001 | 1.0% | -3.0% |
| 2002 | 1.0% | -4.2% |
| 2003 | 0.9% | -4.3% |
| 2004 | 0.9% | -2.6% |
| 2005 | 1.0% | +5.0% |
| 2006 | 1.3% | +37.8% |
| 2007 | 1.3% | -1.6% |
| 2008 | 1.4% | +6.1% |
| 2009 | 1.6% | +16.3% |
| 2010 | 1.6% | -3.1% |
| 2011 | 1.7% | +6.4% |
| 2012 | 1.7% | +3.0% |
| 2013 | 1.9% | +7.7% |
| 2014 | 1.7% | -9.5% |
| 2015 | 1.5% | -11.2% |
| 2016 | 1.5% | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 1.5% | -2.2% |
| 2018 | 1.5% | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 1.4% | -3.2% |
| 2020 | 1.5% | +4.9% |
| 2021 | 1.4% | -4.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1.1% | 0.7% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.0% | 0.7% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.2% | 0.9% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.5% | 1.4% | 1.5% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Netherlands
More economy & growth data for Netherlands
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 1.82 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.141 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Gross capital formation (constant 2015 US$), per capita 10,390 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$), annual growth rate 6.7 % change on previous year (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.6945 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$), per capita 51,174 current US$ per person (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current LCU), annual growth rate 2.21 % change on previous year (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current LCU), per unit of GDP 0.6146 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current LCU), per capita 45,287 current LCU per person (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (constant 2015 US$), annual growth rate 2.42 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is social spending as share of gdp in Netherlands?
- Social spending as share of gdp in Netherlands was 1.4% 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 Netherlands?
- The highest recorded value was 1.9% in 2013.
- What is the lowest social spending as share of gdp recorded in Netherlands?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 1993.
- How does Netherlands rank for social spending as share of gdp?
- Netherlands ranks 5th out of 42 countries with data for 2021.
- Is social spending as share of gdp rising or falling in Netherlands?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Netherlands 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 — 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.