Countries With the Lowest Old-age Spending
Every country with a figure for old-age spending, ranked from lowest to highest. The top three are Peru (1.87%), Ireland (2.75%) and Chile (3.28%). The middle country of the 42 has 7.39%.
What this measures
Public spending on old-age benefits, in % of GDP. Source: OECD. For this measure, no agreed better direction.
Public pensions and other benefits for older people. It mostly reflects how old a country is and how its pensions are set up. That is why its strongest link is with the share of people aged 65 and over.
The full ranking
Each country’s latest figure, from 2021–2023. The year beside each value says when it was measured.
| Rank | Country | Old-age spending | Year | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Peru | 1.87% | 2023 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 2 | Ireland | 2.75% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 3 | Chile | 3.28% | 2023 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 4 | Iceland | 3.29% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 5 | Korea, Rep. | 3.62% | 2022 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 6 | Australia | 4.46% | 2022 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 7 | Costa Rica | 4.58% | 2022 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 8 | Turkiye | 4.88% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 9 | Israel | 4.92% | 2023 | Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan |
| 10 | New Zealand | 5.06% | 2022 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 11 | Mexico | 5.11% | 2023 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 12 | Canada | 5.59% | 2022 | North America |
| 13 | Colombia | 5.7% | 2023 | Latin America & Caribbean |
| 14 | Switzerland | 6.32% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 15 | Lithuania | 6.44% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 16 | United States | 6.8% | 2023 | North America |
| 17 | Estonia | 6.82% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 18 | Slovak Republic | 7.15% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 19 | Luxembourg | 7.19% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 20 | Netherlands | 7.19% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 21 | Hungary | 7.33% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 22 | Croatia | 7.39% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 23 | United Kingdom | 7.41% | 2022 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 24 | Latvia | 7.82% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 25 | Czechia | 7.96% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 26 | Bulgaria | 8.09% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 27 | Romania | 8.18% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 28 | Japan | 8.29% | 2022 | East Asia & Pacific |
| 29 | Norway | 8.43% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 30 | Denmark | 9.27% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 31 | Slovenia | 9.55% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 32 | Poland | 9.74% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 33 | Germany | 9.94% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 34 | Sweden | 10.1% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 35 | Belgium | 10.2% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 36 | Spain | 10.3% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 37 | Portugal | 11.1% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 38 | France | 12.4% | 2022 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 39 | Finland | 13% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 40 | Austria | 13.2% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 41 | Greece | 13.6% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
| 42 | Italy | 13.7% | 2021 | Europe & Central Asia |
More on old-age spending
- Countries With the Highest Old-age Spending
- Old-age spending by country: trend over time and what it goes with
Related rankings
- Countries With the Lowest Public Social Spending
- Countries With the Lowest Family Benefits Spending
- Countries With the Lowest Aid Given
- Countries With the Lowest Government Spending per Capita
- Countries With the Lowest Corporate Tax Rates
- Countries With the Lowest HDI
- Countries With the Lowest Inequality-adjusted HDI
- Countries With the Lowest GDP per Capita (PPP)
A ranking describes countries, not the people in them, and a high or low place does not by itself say why. All country rankings.