Belgium vs Netherlands: Government health spending as a share of GDP
Belgium
8.2%
in 2025
Netherlands
8.5%
in 2025
Belgium rank
11th
Netherlands rank
9th
Government health spending as a share of GDP over time
- Belgium
- Netherlands
How they compare
Netherlands currently reports 8.5% against 8.2% in Belgium, a difference of 0.3%.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 40 shared years of data; in 1880 it was Belgium ahead.
Belgium ranks 11th and Netherlands ranks 9th of 59 countries.
Across the 10 decades both report, Belgium averaged higher in 8 and Netherlands in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Belgium | Netherlands | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% | Belgium |
| 1890s | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% | Belgium |
| 1900s | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% | Belgium |
| 1910s | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.2% | Belgium |
| 1920s | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.2% | Belgium |
| 1930s | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.1% | Belgium |
| 1990s | 5.8% | 5.4% | 0.4% | Belgium |
| 2000s | 6.8% | 6.7% | 0.1% | Belgium |
| 2010s | 8.1% | 8.3% | 0.2% | Netherlands |
| 2020s | 8.2% | 8.7% | 0.5% | Netherlands |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher government health spending as a share of gdp, Belgium or Netherlands?
- Netherlands, at 8.5% against 8.2% in Belgium as of 2025.
- What is the difference in government health spending as a share of gdp between Belgium and Netherlands?
- 0.3%, with Netherlands ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Belgium and Netherlands?
- 40 years are reported by both, from 1880 to 2025.
- How do Belgium and Netherlands rank globally for government health spending as a share of gdp?
- Belgium ranks 11th and Netherlands ranks 9th of 59 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- OECD (2026); OECD (1993); Lindert (1994) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Government health spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Public health expenditure divided by gross domestic product, expressed as a percentage.