New Zealand vs Norway: Government health spending as a share of GDP
New Zealand
7.8%
in 2025
Norway
8.0%
in 2025
New Zealand rank
17th
Norway rank
15th
Government health spending as a share of GDP over time
- New Zealand
- Norway
How they compare
Norway currently reports 8.0% against 7.8% in New Zealand, a difference of 0.2%.
The two have swapped places 10 times across 72 shared years of data; in 1880 it was Norway ahead.
New Zealand ranks 17th and Norway ranks 15th of 59 countries.
Across the 13 decades both report, New Zealand averaged higher in 6 and Norway in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | New Zealand | Norway | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.0% | Norway |
| 1890s | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.3% | New Zealand |
| 1900s | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.2% | New Zealand |
| 1910s | 0.7% | 0.3% | 0.4% | New Zealand |
| 1920s | 1.1% | 0.3% | 0.8% | New Zealand |
| 1930s | 1.1% | 0.6% | 0.5% | New Zealand |
| 1960s | 3.7% | 2.6% | 1.1% | New Zealand |
| 1970s | 4.5% | 4.7% | 0.2% | Norway |
| 1980s | 4.9% | 5.6% | 0.6% | Norway |
| 1990s | 5.5% | 6.3% | 0.8% | Norway |
| 2000s | 6.5% | 6.9% | 0.4% | Norway |
| 2010s | 7.0% | 7.9% | 0.9% | Norway |
| 2020s | 7.9% | 8.0% | 0.1% | Norway |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher government health spending as a share of gdp, New Zealand or Norway?
- Norway, at 8.0% against 7.8% in New Zealand as of 2025.
- What is the difference in government health spending as a share of gdp between New Zealand and Norway?
- 0.2%, with Norway ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for New Zealand and Norway?
- 72 years are reported by both, from 1880 to 2025.
- How do New Zealand and Norway rank globally for government health spending as a share of gdp?
- New Zealand ranks 17th 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.