Public expenditure as a share of GNP in Europe 1950-1980, by country
Before the First World War, average national figures were generally between 10 and 12 percent of GNP, and this increased to somewhere between 20 and 30 percent in the 1930s. In the given countries, these figures were similar in 1950, but, as mentioned previously, much of this was due to military spending in the past, whereas the focus had shifted to welfare and reconstruction during the postwar recovery period. All countries shown were investing between 30 and 40 percent of GNP into public expenditure by 1965, but this jumped to more than 60 percent in Sweden and the Netherlands, and over 50 percent in Denmark and Belgium. Countless studies have shown links between public spending and long-term economic stability, and the Northern European countries are shown here rank among the highest when it comes to living standards, education, and happiness.