Countries With the Highest Unemployment Benefit Spending
Every country with a figure for unemployment benefit spending, ranked from highest to lowest. The top three are Korea, Rep. (2.37%), Iceland (2.36%) and Spain (2.35%). The middle country of the 39 has 0.638%.
What this measures
Public spending on unemployment benefits, in % of GDP. Source: OECD. For this measure, no agreed better direction.
It rises with unemployment as well as with how generous benefits are. So read it beside the unemployment rate, not instead of it.
The full ranking
Each country’s latest figure, from 2021–2023. The year beside each value says when it was measured.
| Rank | Country | Unemployment benefit spending | Year | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Korea, Rep. | 2.37% | 2022 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 2 | Iceland | 2.36% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 3 | Spain | 2.35% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 4 | Austria | 2.28% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 5 | Finland | 1.87% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 6 | Belgium | 1.86% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 7 | Switzerland | 1.72% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 8 | Slovenia | 1.6% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 9 | Lithuania | 1.52% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 10 | Italy | 1.46% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 11 | Germany | 1.4% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 12 | Portugal | 1.38% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 13 | France | 1.34% | 2022 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 14 | Ireland | 1.32% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 15 | Latvia | 1.05% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 16 | Czechia | 1.03% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 17 | Luxembourg | 0.846% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 18 | Netherlands | 0.709% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 19 | Greece | 0.696% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 20 | Norway | 0.638% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 21 | Croatia | 0.576% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 22 | Australia | 0.554% | 2022 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 23 | New Zealand | 0.533% | 2022 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 24 | Slovak Republic | 0.494% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 25 | Canada | 0.441% | 2022 | North America |
| 26 | Sweden | 0.416% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 27 | Estonia | 0.405% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 28 | Turkiye | 0.393% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 29 | Hungary | 0.388% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 30 | Bulgaria | 0.379% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 31 | Israel | 0.349% | 2023 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 32 | Poland | 0.344% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 33 | Japan | 0.183% | 2022 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 34 | Romania | 0.117% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 35 | United States | 0.113% | 2023 | North America |
| 36 | Chile | 0.102% | 2023 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 37 | United Kingdom | 0.074% | 2022 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 38 | Costa Rica | 0.015% | 2022 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 39 | Denmark | 0.006% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
More on unemployment benefit spending
- Countries With the Lowest Unemployment Benefit Spending
- Unemployment benefit spending by country: trend over time and what it goes with
Related rankings
- Countries With the Highest Active Labour Market Spending
- Countries With the Highest Retirement Age, Men
- Countries With the Highest Retirement Age, Women
- Countries With the Highest Hours Worked
- Countries With the Highest Informal Employment
- Countries With the Highest Unemployment
- Countries With the Highest Female Labor Participation
- Countries With the Highest Male Labor Participation
A ranking describes countries, not the people in them, and a high or low place does not by itself say why. All country rankings.