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Social protection spending as share of total government spending

OECD
See all data and research on:
Government Spending

What you should know about this indicator

  • General government expenditure includes goods and services consumed in a production process, compensation of employees, subsidies, property income, social benefits, capital transfers and investments, and other current expenditures.
  • Government spending on social protection provides financial assistance and services to individuals and families. It includes benefits for sickness and disability, old age, survivors, family and children, unemployment, housing, social exclusion, and research and development related to these areas.
  • This data was classified using the Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG) framework. This is an international classification system to classify government expenditures by the functions or purposes they serve. It was developed by the OECD and the UN and is adopted by other international organizations It defines ten different functions of government: general public services, defense, public order and safety, economic affairs, environmental protection, housing and community amenities, health, recreation, culture and religion, education, and social protection.
  • This data refers to general government, which includes central, state, and local governments and social security funds.

How is this data described by its producer - OECD?

General government expenditures data are from the OECD National Accounts Statistics (database), which are based on the System of National Accounts (SNA), a set of internationally agreed concepts, definitions, classifications and rules for national accounting. the 2008 SNA framework has been implemented by all OECD countries. In SNA terminology, general government consists of central, state and local governments and social security funds. Expenditures encompass intermediate consumption, compensation of employees, subsidies, property income (including interest spending), social benefits, other current expenditures (mainly current transfers) and capital expenditures (capital transfers and investments). Gross domestic product (GDP) is the standard measure of the value of the goods and services produced by a country during a period. Government expenditures per capita were calculated by converting total government expenditures to USD using the OECD/ Eurostat purchasing power parities (PPP) for GDP and dividing by population of the country. PPP is the number of units of country B’s currency needed to buy the same quantity of goods and services in country A.

Social protection spending as share of total government spending
OECD
General government expenditure on social protection. This data is divided by total government expenditure, expressed as a percentage.
Source
OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Last updated
June 30, 2025
Next expected update
June 2026
Date range
2007–2023
Unit
% of government expenditure

Related research and writing

A dark blue background with a lighter blue world map superimposed over it. Yellow text that says Government Spending by Our World in Data

Government Spending

Esteban Ortiz-Ospina, Bertha Rohenkohl, Pablo Arriagada, and Max Roser

Explore charts that include this data

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

OECD – Public finance main indicators - Government at a glance, Yearly updates

This dataset represents a selection of indicators as presented in the 2025 edition of the Government at a Glance publication related to the public finance under the System of national accounts (SNA). Government at a Glance provides a dashboard of indicators assembled to help decision makers and the public analyse and benchmark governments across OECD members and partner countries. With a growing emphasis on governance outcomes, this ninth edition presents the latest evidence on public governance tools and resources that can help public administrations address complex, long-term challenges, while allowing progress to be monitored over time. The Structure and indicators section of the Government at a Glance publication, describes its framework and the structure by chapters.

The 2025 edition of Government at a Glance presents a structure around three broad categories:

  1. Trust, security and dignity; prosperity and satisfaction with public services;
  2. Achieving results with good governance practices;
  3. What resources public institutions use and how are they managed.

Further information on Government at a Glance 2025 edition via a dedicated web platform, which includes a Government at a Glance Data dashboard (for a selection of indicators in an interactive format) as well as Country fact sheets (key data by country), can be found at: Government at a Glance website.

Retrieved on
July 10, 2025
Retrieved from
https://data-explorer.oecd.org/
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
OECD (2025). Public finance main indicators - Government at a glance, Yearly updates. OECD Data Explorer, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/.

This dataset represents a selection of indicators as presented in the 2025 edition of the Government at a Glance publication related to the public finance under the System of national accounts (SNA). Government at a Glance provides a dashboard of indicators assembled to help decision makers and the public analyse and benchmark governments across OECD members and partner countries. With a growing emphasis on governance outcomes, this ninth edition presents the latest evidence on public governance tools and resources that can help public administrations address complex, long-term challenges, while allowing progress to be monitored over time. The Structure and indicators section of the Government at a Glance publication, describes its framework and the structure by chapters.

The 2025 edition of Government at a Glance presents a structure around three broad categories:

  1. Trust, security and dignity; prosperity and satisfaction with public services;
  2. Achieving results with good governance practices;
  3. What resources public institutions use and how are they managed.

Further information on Government at a Glance 2025 edition via a dedicated web platform, which includes a Government at a Glance Data dashboard (for a selection of indicators in an interactive format) as well as Country fact sheets (key data by country), can be found at: Government at a Glance website.

Retrieved on
July 10, 2025
Retrieved from
https://data-explorer.oecd.org/
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
OECD (2025). Public finance main indicators - Government at a glance, Yearly updates. OECD Data Explorer, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/.

OECD – Size of public procurement - Government at a glance indicators, Yearly updates

This dataset represents a selection of indicators as presented in the 2025 edition of the Government at a Glance publication related to the public procurement spending as estimated under the System of National Accounts (SNA). Government at a Glance provides a dashboard of indicators assembled to help decision makers and the public analyse and benchmark governments across OECD members and partner countries. With a growing emphasis on governance outcomes, this ninth edition presents the latest evidence on public governance tools and resources that can help public administrations address complex, long-term challenges, while allowing progress to be monitored over time. The Structure and indicators section of the Government at a Glance publication, describes its framework and the structure by chapters.

The 2025 edition of Government at a Glance presents a structure around three broad categories:

  1. Trust, security and dignity; prosperity and satisfaction with public services;
  2. Achieving results with good governance practices;
  3. What resources public institutions use and how are they managed.

Further information on Government at a Glance 2025 edition via a dedicated web platform, which includes a Government at a Glance Data dashboard (for a selection of indicators in an interactive format) as well as Country fact sheets (key data by country), can be found at: Government at a Glance website.

Retrieved on
July 10, 2025
Retrieved from
https://data-explorer.oecd.org/
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
OECD (2025). Size of public procurement - Government at a glance indicators, Yearly updates. OECD Data Explorer, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/.

This dataset represents a selection of indicators as presented in the 2025 edition of the Government at a Glance publication related to the public procurement spending as estimated under the System of National Accounts (SNA). Government at a Glance provides a dashboard of indicators assembled to help decision makers and the public analyse and benchmark governments across OECD members and partner countries. With a growing emphasis on governance outcomes, this ninth edition presents the latest evidence on public governance tools and resources that can help public administrations address complex, long-term challenges, while allowing progress to be monitored over time. The Structure and indicators section of the Government at a Glance publication, describes its framework and the structure by chapters.

The 2025 edition of Government at a Glance presents a structure around three broad categories:

  1. Trust, security and dignity; prosperity and satisfaction with public services;
  2. Achieving results with good governance practices;
  3. What resources public institutions use and how are they managed.

Further information on Government at a Glance 2025 edition via a dedicated web platform, which includes a Government at a Glance Data dashboard (for a selection of indicators in an interactive format) as well as Country fact sheets (key data by country), can be found at: Government at a Glance website.

Retrieved on
July 10, 2025
Retrieved from
https://data-explorer.oecd.org/
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
OECD (2025). Size of public procurement - Government at a glance indicators, Yearly updates. OECD Data Explorer, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/.

OECD – Public finance by economic transaction - Government at a glance indicators, Yearly updates

This dataset represents a selection of indicators as presented in the 2025 edition of the Government at a Glance publication related to government revenue and expenditure disaggregation by economic transactions under the System of National Accounts (SNA). Government at a Glance provides a dashboard of indicators assembled to help decision makers and the public analyse and benchmark governments across OECD members and partner countries. With a growing emphasis on governance outcomes, this ninth edition presents the latest evidence on public governance tools and resources that can help public administrations address complex, long-term challenges, while allowing progress to be monitored over time. The Structure and indicators section of the Government at a Glance publication, describes its framework and the structure by chapters.

The 2025 edition of Government at a Glance presents a structure around three broad categories:

  1. Trust, security and dignity; prosperity and satisfaction with public services;
  2. Achieving results with good governance practices;
  3. What resources public institutions use and how are they managed.

Further information on Government at a Glance 2025 edition via a dedicated web platform, which includes a Government at a Glance Data dashboard (for a selection of indicators in an interactive format) as well as Country fact sheets (key data by country), can be found at: Government at a Glance website.

Retrieved on
July 10, 2025
Retrieved from
https://data-explorer.oecd.org/
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
OECD (2025). Size of public procurement - Public finance by economic transaction - Government at a glance indicators, Yearly updates. OECD Data Explorer, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/.

This dataset represents a selection of indicators as presented in the 2025 edition of the Government at a Glance publication related to government revenue and expenditure disaggregation by economic transactions under the System of National Accounts (SNA). Government at a Glance provides a dashboard of indicators assembled to help decision makers and the public analyse and benchmark governments across OECD members and partner countries. With a growing emphasis on governance outcomes, this ninth edition presents the latest evidence on public governance tools and resources that can help public administrations address complex, long-term challenges, while allowing progress to be monitored over time. The Structure and indicators section of the Government at a Glance publication, describes its framework and the structure by chapters.

The 2025 edition of Government at a Glance presents a structure around three broad categories:

  1. Trust, security and dignity; prosperity and satisfaction with public services;
  2. Achieving results with good governance practices;
  3. What resources public institutions use and how are they managed.

Further information on Government at a Glance 2025 edition via a dedicated web platform, which includes a Government at a Glance Data dashboard (for a selection of indicators in an interactive format) as well as Country fact sheets (key data by country), can be found at: Government at a Glance website.

Retrieved on
July 10, 2025
Retrieved from
https://data-explorer.oecd.org/
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
OECD (2025). Size of public procurement - Public finance by economic transaction - Government at a glance indicators, Yearly updates. OECD Data Explorer, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/.

OECD – Public finance by function - Government at a glance indicators, Yearly updates

This dataset represents a selection of indicators as presented in the 2025 edition of the Government at a Glance publication related to expenditures disaggregated according to the Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG) under the System of National Accounts (SNA). Government at a Glance provides a dashboard of indicators assembled to help decision makers and the public analyse and benchmark governments across OECD members and partner countries. With a growing emphasis on governance outcomes, this ninth edition presents the latest evidence on public governance tools and resources that can help public administrations address complex, long-term challenges, while allowing progress to be monitored over time. The Structure and indicators section of the Government at a Glance publication, describes its framework and the structure by chapters.

The 2025 edition of Government at a Glance presents a structure around three broad categories:

  1. Trust, security and dignity; prosperity and satisfaction with public services;
  2. Achieving results with good governance practices;
  3. What resources public institutions use and how are they managed.

Further information on Government at a Glance 2025 edition via a dedicated web platform, which includes a Government at a Glance Data dashboard (for a selection of indicators in an interactive format) as well as Country fact sheets (key data by country), can be found at: Government at a Glance website.

Retrieved on
July 10, 2025
Retrieved from
https://data-explorer.oecd.org/
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
OECD (2025). Public finance by function - Government at a glance indicators, Yearly updates. OECD Data Explorer, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/.

This dataset represents a selection of indicators as presented in the 2025 edition of the Government at a Glance publication related to expenditures disaggregated according to the Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG) under the System of National Accounts (SNA). Government at a Glance provides a dashboard of indicators assembled to help decision makers and the public analyse and benchmark governments across OECD members and partner countries. With a growing emphasis on governance outcomes, this ninth edition presents the latest evidence on public governance tools and resources that can help public administrations address complex, long-term challenges, while allowing progress to be monitored over time. The Structure and indicators section of the Government at a Glance publication, describes its framework and the structure by chapters.

The 2025 edition of Government at a Glance presents a structure around three broad categories:

  1. Trust, security and dignity; prosperity and satisfaction with public services;
  2. Achieving results with good governance practices;
  3. What resources public institutions use and how are they managed.

Further information on Government at a Glance 2025 edition via a dedicated web platform, which includes a Government at a Glance Data dashboard (for a selection of indicators in an interactive format) as well as Country fact sheets (key data by country), can be found at: Government at a Glance website.

Retrieved on
July 10, 2025
Retrieved from
https://data-explorer.oecd.org/
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
OECD (2025). Public finance by function - Government at a glance indicators, Yearly updates. OECD Data Explorer, https://data-explorer.oecd.org/.

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Citations

How to cite this page

To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Social protection spending as share of total government spending”, part of the following publication: Esteban Ortiz-Ospina, Bertha Rohenkohl, Pablo Arriagada, and Max Roser (2016) - “Government Spending”. Data adapted from OECD. Retrieved from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260304-094028/grapher/share-social-protection-in-government-exp-oecd.html [online resource] (archived on March 4, 2026).

How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data

Full citation

OECD (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. “Social protection spending as share of total government spending – OECD” [dataset]. OECD, “Public finance main indicators - Government at a glance, Yearly updates”; OECD, “Size of public procurement - Government at a glance indicators, Yearly updates”; OECD, “Public finance by economic transaction - Government at a glance indicators, Yearly updates”; OECD, “Public finance by function - Government at a glance indicators, Yearly updates” [original data]. Retrieved March 31, 2026 from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260304-094028/grapher/share-social-protection-in-government-exp-oecd.html (archived on March 4, 2026).

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https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-social-protection-in-government-exp-oecd.csv?v=1&csvType=full&useColumnShortNames=false
Metadata URL (JSON format)
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-social-protection-in-government-exp-oecd.metadata.json?v=1&csvType=full&useColumnShortNames=false

Code examples

Examples of how to load this data into different data analysis tools.

Excel / Google Sheets
=IMPORTDATA("https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-social-protection-in-government-exp-oecd.csv?v=1&csvType=full&useColumnShortNames=false")
Python with Pandas
import pandas as pd
import requests

# Fetch the data.
df = pd.read_csv("https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-social-protection-in-government-exp-oecd.csv?v=1&csvType=full&useColumnShortNames=false", storage_options = {'User-Agent': 'Our World In Data data fetch/1.0'})

# Fetch the metadata
metadata = requests.get("https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-social-protection-in-government-exp-oecd.metadata.json?v=1&csvType=full&useColumnShortNames=false").json()
R
library(jsonlite)

# Fetch the data
df <- read.csv("https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-social-protection-in-government-exp-oecd.csv?v=1&csvType=full&useColumnShortNames=false")

# Fetch the metadata
metadata <- fromJSON("https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-social-protection-in-government-exp-oecd.metadata.json?v=1&csvType=full&useColumnShortNames=false")
Stata
import delimited "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-social-protection-in-government-exp-oecd.csv?v=1&csvType=full&useColumnShortNames=false", encoding("utf-8") clear