Country rankings

Welfare States

France has the highest Social Spending in 2022 (31.6%), followed by Italy (30.1%) and Austria (29.4%). Ireland has the lowest (12.8%).

Politics & Government58 countries · 9 metricsUpdated Feb 13, 2025Original page
6 sources
26 of 235 countries
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Social Spending, 2022

Darker means higher. Click a place to highlight it.

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All 26 ranked

Highest first.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one country; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median
22.4%
Middle half 19.2% – 26.6%
Average
22.6%
26 countries
Highest
31.6%
France
Lowest
12.8%
Ireland

Over time · 2019–2022

The top 5 in 2022, against the median.

  • Median of all countries
  • France
  • Italy
  • Austria
  • Finland
  • Belgium

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

26 countries · # = rank by Social Spending
#
1France31.6%
2Italy30.1%
3Austria29.4%
4Finland29.0%
5Belgium29.0%
6Spain28.1%
7Germany26.7%
8Denmark26.2%
9Portugal24.6%
10Greece24.1%
11Sweden23.7%
12Slovenia22.8%
13Poland22.7%
14Czechia22.0%
15Luxembourg21.9%
16Iceland20.8%
17Norway20.7%
18Lithuania19.8%
19Latvia19.7%
20Slovakia19.1%
21Netherlands17.6%
22Hungary17.2%
22Estonia17.2%
24Switzerland17.0%
25South Korea14.8%
26Ireland12.8%

What correlates with Social Spending (2022)?

Pearson r against 2,079 other country metrics sharing at least 16 countries. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Social Spending tend to score higher on these

  1. Expenditure as % of GDPGovernment Size by Country
    r = +0.82 · very strong · n = 25
    Plot
  2. Government Revenue as % of GDPGovernment Size by Country
    r = +0.75 · very strong · n = 25
    Plot
  3. Tax Rate at 167% of Avg WageOECD Tax Rates by Country
    r = +0.73 · very strong · n = 25
    Plot
  4. Tax Rate at 133% of Avg WageOECD Tax Rates by Country
    r = +0.72 · very strong · n = 25
    Plot
  5. Tax Rate at 100% of Avg WageOECD Tax Rates by Country
    r = +0.69 · strong · n = 25
    Plot
  6. Grape ProductionGrape Production by Country
    r = +0.69 · strong · n = 17
    Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Social Spending tend to score lower on these

  1. Real Pct Change ProjectedGovernment Size by Country
    r = −0.76 · very strong · n = 25
    Plot
  2. Workforce Participation MenWorkforce Participation by Country
    r = −0.73 · very strong · n = 26
    Plot
  3. Male ParticipationLabor Force Participation Rate by Country
    r = −0.67 · strong · n = 26
    Plot
  4. Birth Defect RateBirth Defect Rates by Country
    r = −0.67 · strong · n = 26
    Plot
  5. % Domestic Players in National CompetitionsSoccer Players by Country
    r = −0.67 · strong · n = 23
    Plot
  6. ZeroPark 2020Tier 1 Countries
    r = −0.62 · strong · n = 26
    Plot

Quick answers

Which country has the highest Social Spending?
France has the highest Social Spending in 2022, at 31.6%, followed by Italy (30.1%) and Austria (29.4%).
Which country has the lowest Social Spending?
Ireland has the lowest Social Spending in 2022, at 12.8%.
What is the median Social Spending across countries?
The median is 22.4% across the 26 countries with data in 2022.
Where does this welfare states data come from?
Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Social spending - OECD; Pension spending - OECD; Public unemployment spending - OECD; Social benefits to households - OECD.