Social expenditure aggregates in France
France: Social expenditure aggregates was 30.65 Percentage of GDP in 2024. ▲ Rising
Social expenditure aggregates in France, 1980–2024
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for social expenditure aggregates in France is 30.65 Percentage of GDP, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 3.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, social expenditure aggregates in France peaked at 34.69 Percentage of GDP in 2020 and was at its lowest, 15.78 Percentage of GDP, in 1981.
That places France 3rd out of 33 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Social expenditure aggregates in France, year by year
| Year | Percentage of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 20.33 Percentage of GDP | — |
| 1981 | 15.78 Percentage of GDP | -22.4% |
| 1982 | 16.3 Percentage of GDP | +3.3% |
| 1983 | 16.41 Percentage of GDP | +0.7% |
| 1984 | 16.55 Percentage of GDP | +0.9% |
| 1985 | 25.61 Percentage of GDP | +54.7% |
| 1986 | 19.35 Percentage of GDP | -24.4% |
| 1987 | 19.26 Percentage of GDP | -0.5% |
| 1988 | 19.05 Percentage of GDP | -1.1% |
| 1989 | 18.1 Percentage of GDP | -5.0% |
| 1990 | 24.62 Percentage of GDP | +36.0% |
| 1991 | 25.24 Percentage of GDP | +2.5% |
| 1992 | 25.99 Percentage of GDP | +3.0% |
| 1993 | 27.35 Percentage of GDP | +5.2% |
| 1994 | 27.37 Percentage of GDP | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 28.59 Percentage of GDP | +4.5% |
| 1996 | 28.9 Percentage of GDP | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 28.71 Percentage of GDP | -0.6% |
| 1998 | 28.98 Percentage of GDP | +0.9% |
| 1999 | 28.95 Percentage of GDP | -0.1% |
| 2000 | 27.81 Percentage of GDP | -3.9% |
| 2001 | 27.85 Percentage of GDP | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 28.59 Percentage of GDP | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 28.95 Percentage of GDP | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 29.01 Percentage of GDP | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 28.89 Percentage of GDP | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 28.43 Percentage of GDP | -1.6% |
| 2007 | 28.29 Percentage of GDP | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 28.52 Percentage of GDP | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 30.95 Percentage of GDP | +8.5% |
| 2010 | 30.97 Percentage of GDP | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 30.64 Percentage of GDP | -1.0% |
| 2012 | 31.18 Percentage of GDP | +1.8% |
| 2013 | 31.59 Percentage of GDP | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 31.89 Percentage of GDP | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 31.7 Percentage of GDP | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 31.84 Percentage of GDP | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 31.51 Percentage of GDP | -1.0% |
| 2018 | 31.05 Percentage of GDP | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 30.76 Percentage of GDP | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 34.69 Percentage of GDP | +12.8% |
| 2021 | 32.72 Percentage of GDP | -5.7% |
| 2022 | 31.36 Percentage of GDP | -4.1% |
| 2023 | 30.64 Percentage of GDP | -2.3% |
| 2024 | 30.65 Percentage of GDP | +0.0% |
France compared with similar countries
- France's 30.65 Percentage of GDP is above the median for high income countries, which is 23.74 Percentage of GDP, 1.3× the median. (29 countries reporting)
- France's 30.65 Percentage of GDP is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 24.05 Percentage of GDP, 1.3× the median. (21 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Social expenditure aggregates in France changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | +54.7% | 16.55 Percentage of GDP | 25.61 Percentage of GDP |
| 1990 | +36.0% | 18.1 Percentage of GDP | 24.62 Percentage of GDP |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 18.68 Percentage of GDP | 15.78 Percentage of GDP | 25.61 Percentage of GDP | 10 |
| 1990s | 27.47 Percentage of GDP | 24.62 Percentage of GDP | 28.98 Percentage of GDP | 10 |
| 2000s | 28.73 Percentage of GDP | 27.81 Percentage of GDP | 30.95 Percentage of GDP | 10 |
| 2010s | 31.32 Percentage of GDP | 30.64 Percentage of GDP | 31.89 Percentage of GDP | 10 |
| 2020s | 32.01 Percentage of GDP | 30.64 Percentage of GDP | 34.69 Percentage of GDP | 5 |
Countries ranked near France
- 1 Croatia 22.48 Percentage of GDP compare
- 1 Poland 23.07 Percentage of GDP compare
- 1 Austria 31.55 Percentage of GDP compare
- 2 Slovenia 23 Percentage of GDP compare
- 2 Finland 31.44 Percentage of GDP compare
- 3 Latvia 19.7 Percentage of GDP compare
- 4 Netherlands 18.87 Percentage of GDP compare
- 4 Belgium 28.57 Percentage of GDP compare
- 5 Germany 27.85 Percentage of GDP compare
- 5 Estonia 17.2 Percentage of GDP compare
- 6 Lithuania 16.94 Percentage of GDP compare
- 6 Italy 27.57 Percentage of GDP compare
More social development data for France
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 788,419 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 166 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 1 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 166 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0115 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is social expenditure aggregates in France?
- Social expenditure aggregates in France was 30.65 Percentage of GDP in 2024, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest social expenditure aggregates recorded in France?
- The highest recorded value was 34.69 Percentage of GDP in 2020.
- What is the lowest social expenditure aggregates recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.78 Percentage of GDP in 1981.
- How does France rank for social expenditure aggregates?
- France ranks 3rd out of 33 countries with data for 2024.
- Is social expenditure aggregates rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this France data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Social expenditure aggregates. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
The OECD Social Expenditure Database (SOCX) has been developed in order to serve a growing need for indicators of social policy. It includes reliable and internationally comparable statistics on public and mandatory and voluntary private social expenditure at programme level. SOCX provides a unique tool for monitoring trends in aggregate social expenditure and analysing changes in its composition. It covers 38 OECD countries and some accession countries for the period 1980-2021/23 and estimates for aggregates for 2022-24. A Social Expenditure Update can be found under www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/social-expenditure-database-socx.htm. The main social policy areas are as follows: Old age, Survivors, Incapacity-related benefits, Health, Family, Active labor market programmes, Unemployment, Housing, and Other social policy areas. This version also includes estimates of net total social spending for 2021 for 38 OECD countries. SOCX aggregated data as well as sources and methodology are described in The OECD SOCX Manual – 2019 edition- A guide to the OECD Social Expenditure Database.