Germany vs Sweden: Government health spending as a share of GDP
Germany
11.0%
in 2025
Sweden
9.3%
in 2025
Germany rank
2nd
Sweden rank
4th
Government health spending as a share of GDP over time
- Germany
- Sweden
How they compare
Germany currently reports 11.0% against 9.3% in Sweden, a difference of 1.7%.
That makes Germany's figure about 1.2 times Sweden's.
The two have swapped places 9 times across 71 shared years of data; in 1880 it was Sweden ahead.
Germany ranks 2nd and Sweden ranks 4th of 59 countries.
Across the 12 decades both report, Germany averaged higher in 5 and Sweden in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Germany | Sweden | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.1% | Sweden |
| 1890s | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.2% | Sweden |
| 1900s | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.2% | Sweden |
| 1910s | 0.0% | 0.3% | 0.3% | Sweden |
| 1930s | 0.1% | 0.9% | 0.8% | Sweden |
| 1960s | 3.7% | 3.3% | 0.4% | Germany |
| 1970s | 5.5% | 5.7% | 0.2% | Sweden |
| 1980s | 6.4% | 6.7% | 0.3% | Sweden |
| 1990s | 7.2% | 6.2% | 1.0% | Germany |
| 2000s | 7.8% | 6.7% | 1.1% | Germany |
| 2010s | 9.2% | 9.0% | 0.2% | Germany |
| 2020s | 10.6% | 9.6% | 1.0% | Germany |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher government health spending as a share of gdp, Germany or Sweden?
- Germany, at 11.0% against 9.3% in Sweden as of 2025.
- What is the difference in government health spending as a share of gdp between Germany and Sweden?
- 1.7%, with Germany ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and Sweden?
- 71 years are reported by both, from 1880 to 2025.
- How do Germany and Sweden rank globally for government health spending as a share of gdp?
- Germany ranks 2nd and Sweden ranks 4th 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.