Denmark vs Norway: Government health spending as a share of GDP
Denmark
7.9%
in 2025
Norway
8.0%
in 2025
Denmark rank
16th
Norway rank
15th
Government health spending as a share of GDP over time
- Denmark
- Norway
How they compare
Norway currently reports 8.0% against 7.9% in Denmark, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 10 times across 72 shared years of data; in 1880 it was Norway ahead.
Denmark ranks 16th and Norway ranks 15th of 59 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, Denmark averaged higher in 12 and Norway in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Denmark | Norway | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 0.1% | 0.2% | 0.1% | Norway |
| 1890s | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.2% | Denmark |
| 1900s | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.2% | Denmark |
| 1910s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.2% | Denmark |
| 1920s | 1.1% | 0.3% | 0.8% | Denmark |
| 1930s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.1% | Denmark |
| 1960s | 5.0% | 2.6% | 2.4% | Denmark |
| 1970s | 6.9% | 4.7% | 2.2% | Denmark |
| 1980s | 7.0% | 5.6% | 1.5% | Denmark |
| 1990s | 6.5% | 6.3% | 0.2% | Denmark |
| 2000s | 7.6% | 6.9% | 0.7% | Denmark |
| 2010s | 8.7% | 7.9% | 0.8% | Denmark |
| 2020s | 8.3% | 8.0% | 0.4% | Denmark |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher government health spending as a share of gdp, Denmark or Norway?
- Norway, at 8.0% against 7.9% in Denmark as of 2025.
- What is the difference in government health spending as a share of gdp between Denmark and Norway?
- 0.1%, with Norway ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Denmark and Norway?
- 72 years are reported by both, from 1880 to 2025.
- How do Denmark and Norway rank globally for government health spending as a share of gdp?
- Denmark ranks 16th and Norway ranks 15th 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.