Countries With the Highest Public Order Spending
Every country with a figure for public order spending, ranked from highest to lowest. The top three are Romania (2.67%), Bulgaria (2.6%) and Latvia (2.57%). The middle country of the 37 has 1.69%.
What this measures
Government expenditure on public order and safety, in % of GDP. Source: OECD. For this measure, no agreed better direction.
Police, courts, prisons and fire services together, as grouped in the UN's standard list of what governments spend on. Spending on order is not a measure of order. It rises where crime is high and where the government is large, and those are not the same thing. No "better" direction is set.
The full ranking
Each country’s latest figure, from 2021–2024. The year beside each value says when it was measured.
| Rank | Country | Public order spending | Year | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Romania | 2.67% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 2 | Bulgaria | 2.6% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 3 | Latvia | 2.57% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 4 | Slovak Republic | 2.4% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 5 | Costa Rica | 2.38% | 2021 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 6 | Poland | 2.25% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 7 | Colombia | 2.23% | 2023 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 8 | Croatia | 2.13% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 9 | United Kingdom | 2.12% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 10 | Australia | 1.97% | 2023 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 11 | Greece | 1.95% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 12 | Estonia | 1.86% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 13 | Netherlands | 1.85% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 14 | United States | 1.85% | 2023 | North America |
| 15 | Spain | 1.83% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 16 | Czechia | 1.76% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 17 | France | 1.72% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 18 | Italy | 1.71% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 19 | Hungary | 1.69% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 20 | Belgium | 1.68% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 21 | Chile | 1.67% | 2023 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 22 | Slovenia | 1.64% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 23 | Switzerland | 1.62% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 24 | Germany | 1.6% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 25 | Portugal | 1.58% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 26 | Iceland | 1.55% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 27 | Austria | 1.5% | 2024 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 28 | Israel | 1.47% | 2023 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 29 | Sweden | 1.47% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 30 | Luxembourg | 1.29% | 2024 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 31 | Finland | 1.24% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 32 | Lithuania | 1.24% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 33 | Korea, Rep. | 1.23% | 2023 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 34 | Japan | 1.17% | 2023 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 35 | Norway | 1.06% | 2024 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 36 | Denmark | 0.976% | 2024 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 37 | Ireland | 0.774% | 2023 | Europe & Central Asia |
More on public order spending
- Countries With the Lowest Public Order Spending
- Public order spending by country: trend over time and what it goes with
Related rankings
- Countries With the Highest Conflict Deaths
- Countries With the Highest Armed Conflict Present
- Countries With the Highest Homicide Rates
A ranking describes countries, not the people in them, and a high or low place does not by itself say why. All country rankings.