Government spending by country, 2025
Total general government expenditure, including social benefits, compensation of employees, interest and investment, as a percentage of GDP.
30 places ranked for 2025. Highest: Finland (57.5%). Lowest: Ireland (22.3%). The median is 47.3%.
Highest 10
Lowest 10
- 30. Ireland 22.3%
- 29. Switzerland 33.6%
- 28. Malta 37.1%
- 27. Cyprus 37.9%
- 26. Lithuania 41.1%
- 25. Bulgaria 42.1%
- 24. Portugal 42.3%
- 23. Czechia 43.3%
- 22. Romania 43.4%
- 21. Netherlands 45.2%p (provisional)
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Source: Eurostat.
In short
- Among the 30 countries with a value for 2025, the highest is Finland (57.5%) and the lowest Ireland (22.3%).
- Half of the countries are above 47.3% and half below.
- From 2024 to 2025 the value rose in 22 countries and fell in 6.
- The figure for the European Union was 49.4% in 2025, against 52.8% in 2020 (−3.4 percentage points).
Full ranking
| # | Country | Value | Period | Relative size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Finland | 57.5% | 2025 | |
| 2 | France | 57.3% | 2025 | |
| 3 | Austria | 54.6% | 2025 | |
| 4 | Belgium | 54.4%p (provisional) | 2025 | |
| 5 | Italy | 51.1% | 2025 | |
| 6 | Poland | 50.9% | 2025 | |
| 7 | Germany | 50.1% | 2025 | |
| 8 | Croatia | 49.4% | 2025 | |
| 9 | Norway | 49.4% | 2025 | |
| 10 | Sweden | 49.3% | 2025 | |
| 11 | Slovenia | 48.9% | 2025 | |
| 12 | Luxembourg | 48.7% | 2025 | |
| 13 | Greece | 47.8% | 2025 | |
| 14 | Hungary | 47.6% | 2025 | |
| 15 | Slovakia | 47.3% | 2025 | |
| 16 | Denmark | 47.2% | 2025 | |
| 17 | Iceland | 45.7% | 2025 | |
| 18 | Estonia | 45.6% | 2025 | |
| 19 | Latvia | 45.3% | 2025 | |
| 20 | Spain | 45.3% | 2025 | |
| 21 | Netherlands | 45.2%p (provisional) | 2025 | |
| 22 | Romania | 43.4% | 2025 | |
| 23 | Czechia | 43.3% | 2025 | |
| 24 | Portugal | 42.3% | 2025 | |
| 25 | Bulgaria | 42.1% | 2025 | |
| 26 | Lithuania | 41.1% | 2025 | |
| 27 | Cyprus | 37.9% | 2025 | |
| 28 | Malta | 37.1% | 2025 | |
| 29 | Switzerland | 33.6% | 2025 | |
| 30 | Ireland | 22.3% | 2025 |
Places are ordered from the highest to the lowest value. Group medians on this site are the middle value of the members with data for the same year; they are not official aggregates.
How this ranking works
Every country is ranked on its value for 2025, the latest period that most countries have, so all values are for the same point in time. Countries without a value for 2025 are left out. Groups and aggregates such as the European Union are not ranked. Values are as published by Eurostat; the ranking is a plain ordering from the highest to the lowest value and says nothing about whether a high value is good or bad.
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