Countries investing more in social programs have less child poverty: Social expenditure as a share of GDP and relative child poverty rates in selected OECD countries
| Country | Social expenditure as % share of GDP | Child poverty rate, 2014 |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 14.5% | 13.0% |
| Austria | 14.5% | 10.6% |
| Belgium | 19.0% | 10.9% |
| Canada | 12.4% | 15.0% |
| Denmark | 20.9% | 2.9% |
| Finland | 19.1% | 3.6% |
| France | 17.8% | 11.5% |
| Germany | 14.9% | 9.5% |
| Iceland | 14.0% | 7.2% |
| Ireland | 13.2% | 9.2% |
| Italy | 12.6% | 19.3% |
| Luxemburg | 14.0% | 11.3% |
| Netherlands | 17.1% | 10.3% |
| New Zealand | 14.5% | 14.1% |
| Norway | 17.5% | 7.2% |
| Slovakia | 11.7% | 14.5% |
| Spain | 14.2% | 22.7% |
| Sweden | 19.4% | 9.2% |
| Great Britain | 15.5% | 11.0% |
| United States | 12.0% | 20.2% |
| Slovenia | 11.3% | 9.0% |
Notes: The relative child poverty rate is the share of children living in households making below half of the country's household-size-adjusted median income, after taxes and transfers. Social expenditure is the average government spending on social programs (2013–present), less the average value of public pension programs where data is available over the same time period.
Notes: The relative child poverty rate is the share of children living in households with income below half of household-size-adjusted median income for the country. Two countries with the same child poverty rates may differ in terms of the relative income-level of the poor. Poverty rates are based on income after taxes and transfers. Social expenditure is the average government spending on social programs (2013–present), such as Social Security and Medicare in the United States, less the average value of public pension programs where data is available over the same time period. The equation for the trend line is y = -1.0536x + 0.2758 and the R² = 0.3575.
Source: EPI analysis of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development data