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Society at a Glance 2024: OECD Social IndicatorsBuy this book

Society at a Glance: Society at a Glance 2024: OECD Social Indicators

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Tables and Graphs

1. Fertility trends across the OECD: Underlying drivers and the role for policy

Figure 1.1. Simultaneous trends of fewer and later births Figure 1.2. Almost all OECD countries saw fertility rates decline since 1980 Figure 1.3. Childlessness increased markedly in many countries among younger cohorts of women Figure 1.4. Korea has the highest share of first-borns and the lowest share of higher order children Figure 1.5. The mean age at which women give birth rose by four years over the past four decades Figure 1.6. The number of deaths came close to the number of births across the OECD in 2021 Figure 1.7. The link between labour market outcomes and fertility Figure 1.8. The share of dual-earner households is slowly increasing Figure 1.9. In 2022, many workers were worried about losing their jobs Figure 1.10. Many think that child income support is inadequate Figure 1.11. A majority in many countries think that today’s children will miss out on progress Figure 1.12. A continuum of family support throughout childhood Figure 1.13. Public spending family supports varies widely across OECD countries Figure 1.14. The link between family policy and fertility outcomes Figure 1.15. Household expenditures have changed since 2000 Figure 1.16. The share of young adults living with their parents has increased in many countries

2. Interpreting OECD social indicators

Table 2.1. List of perception indicators Table 2.2. List of general context indicators Table 2.3. List of self-sufficiency indicators Table 2.4. List of equity indicators Table 2.5. List of health indicators Table 2.6. List of social cohesion indicators

Social and economic risk perceptions and concerns

Figure 3.1. Overall, nine-in-ten respondents are concerned about inflation and cost of living Figure 3.2. In the long term, respondents are most concerned about financial security in older age

Satisfaction with social policies and the government’s covid response

Figure 3.3. Looking back, under half of respondents are happy with their government’s actions during the COVID-19 pandemic Figure 3.4. Few respondents feel that they could access public benefits in times of need Figure 3.5. Satisfaction tends to be higher for education, public safety, and health

Preferences for government intervention and social policies

Figure 3.6. This year, respondents think that governments should prioritise helping people deal with the living cost crisis Figure 3.7. Where concerns about paying for essentials are widespread, so is the perceived need for more government intervention Figure 3.8. Respondents want to see more spending on healthcare and support for older adults, when respondents are asked to make an increase of 2% of their income in tax and social contributions for better access

Household income

Figure 4.1. Median income varies by a factor eight across OECD countries Figure 4.2. Over the past 30 years, incomes of the bottom 10% grew slower than mean, median and top incomes Figure 4.3. Inflation outpaced household income growth in most countries in 2022

Fertility

Figure 4.4. Fertility rates across the OECD are typically below the population replacement rate Figure 4.5. Fertility rates fell for young women but increased for those 30 to 49 years of age Figure 4.6. The mean age of women at first birth has risen by 3 years within two decades

Migration

Figure 4.7. In most OECD countries, annual migration flows represent less than 1% of the population Figure 4.8. One in ten of the OECD population is foreign-born Figure 4.9. In two-thirds of the OECD countries, migrants’ fertility rates are below replacement rate

Marriage and divorce

Figure 4.10. Marriage rates declined while divorce rates stabilised over the last decades Figure 4.11. The mean age at first marriage for both women and men rose by 6 years since 1990

Table 4.1. Same-sex marriages are formally recognised in 25 OECD countries in 2022

Demographic trends

Figure 4.12. The demographic old age to working age ratio will double over the next four decades Figure 4.13. The strong decline in the youth to working-age ratio has stopped Figure 4.14. The share of youth in the total population declines in most countries

Employment

Figure 5.1. Employment rates in late 2023 were generally above pre-COVID-19 levels Figure 5.2. Maternal employment rates tend to increase with the age of the youngest child Figure 5.3. On average across the OECD 27% of jobs have a high risk of automation

Unemployment

Figure 5.4. Unemployment rates remain low across the OECD countries Figure 5.5. On average one in eight persons (12%) in the workforce is “underutilised”Figure 5.6. On average, one in eight young people (12%) are not employed nor in education or training

Skills

Figure 5.7. More than five-out-of-ten jobs in shortage are found in high-skilled occupations Figure 5.8. The share of online vacancies demanding AI skills is small but increasing Figure 5.9. In most OECD countries, women participate more than men in education and training

Student performance

Figure 5.10. Between 2018 and 2022, performance in mathematics and reading has considerably dropped across OECD countries Figure 5.11. Gender gaps in performance vary across subjects in OECD countries Figure 5.12. Score differences in mathematics, reading, and science between the top and bottom quarter of the ESCS have widened since 2018, but significance varies across countries

Expected years after labour market exit

Figure 5.13. Women spend 4.5 more years after labour market exit than men Figure 5.14. Men and women spend 4.5 more years after labour market exit in 2022 than in 1980

Income and wealth inequalities

Figure 6.1. There are large differences in levels of income inequality across the OECD Figure 6.2. Wealth is more concentrated at the top than income Figure 6.3. On average, over 60% of respondents declared that disparities in income and in wealth were too high

Income poverty

Figure 6.4. There are large differences in levels of relative poverty across the OECD Figure 6.5. On average across the OECD, poverty is highest among the elderly and lowest among adults of working age Figure 6.6. More than one-third of people in the OECD are at risk of falling into poverty

Unemployment and social safety net benefits

Figure 6.7. In most countries, benefit income declines significantly for people with long unemployment spells Figure 6.8. Social safety net benefits alone cannot prevent income poverty Figure 6.9. Couples with two children where a partner is jobless generally need a significantly larger number of working hours to escape poverty than single persons

Social spending

Figure 6.10. Public social spending is estimated to be worth 21% of GDP in 2022 on average across the OECD, but levels differ greatly across countries Figure 6.11. Most spending goes to pensions and health Figure 6.12. Cash support is not always tightly targeted to the poorest

Affordable housing

Figure 6.13. In most OECD countries, owning a home is much more common than renting Figure 6.14. Low-income dwellers face a significant housing cost burden Figure 6.15. Housing is a key worry for young adults

Life expectancy

Figure 7.1. Women continue to live over 5 years more than men on average across OECD countries Figure 7.2. COVID-19 reduced life expectancy in many countries Figure 7.3. On average, the number of healthy life years at age 65 was 10 years for women and 9.6 for men, a noticeably smaller difference between men and women than that for general life expectancy at age 65

Suicides

Figure 7.4. Suicide rates are between two and eight times higher for men than for women across OECD countries Figure 7.5. Suicide rates have been falling on average, but country trends can differ markedly Figure 7.6. Suicide rates generally increase with age

Health spending

Figure 7.7. Large differences in health spending per capita across the OECD Figure 7.8. Real per capita spending on health increased in 2020 and 2021 to tackle the pandemic Figure 7.9. The emergence of COVID-19 led to increases in health spending in two-thirds of OECD countries

Health and care workforce

Figure 7.10. On average across the OECD, the number of nurses is about 2.5 times that of doctors Figure 7.11. One-third of all doctors and a quarter of nurses in OECD countries were over 55 years of age Figure 7.12. Half of the total number of doctors and 87% of long-term care workers across the OECD are women

Tobacco and alcohol consumption

Figure 7.13. Marked decline in smoking rates among adults in most OECD countries Figure 7.14. Slight decline in alcohol consumption among adults in many OECD countries Figure 7.15. One in seven 15-year-olds smoke at least once a month Figure 7.16. Almost one in five 15-year-olds have been drunk at least twice in their life

Life satisfaction

Figure 8.1. Levels and trends of life satisfaction vary considerably across countries Figure 8.2. Life satisfaction varies by socio-demographic group Figure 8.3. A snapshot of people’s daily feelings, emotions, and experiences

Trust in public institutions

Figure 8.4. On average less than half of the population trust their national government Figure 8.5. Trust in national government varies across subgroups of the population Figure 8.6. More than half of the population perceives corruption in government

Violence against women

Figure 8.7. One in 25 women report having experienced intimate partner violence in the past year Figure 8.8. One in ten women across the OECD condone men’s violence against women Figure 8.9. More so than men, women do not feel secure walking alone at night

Voting

Figure 8.10. In most OECD countries there has been a decline in electoral participation Figure 8.11. Young people tend to vote less than adults age 25-50 Figure 8.12. One in four young people in OECD are not at all interested in politics

Online activities

Figure 8.13. Internet usage has increased in all OECD countries in the past two decades Figure 8.14. Internet use varies across educational attainment, age and household income Figure 8.15. Teenage girls report more often to be victims of cyberbullying than boys

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Disclaimers

This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Member countries of the OECD.

This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.

The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law.

Photo credits: Cover © Robert Kneschke/Shutterstock.com; Images - Perceptions of social risks and government effectiveness: © Olga Danylenko/Shutterstock.com, General context indicators © r.classen/Shutterstock.com, Self-sufficiency indicators: © G-Stock Studio/Shutterstock.com, Equity indicators: © auricio Graiki/Shutterstock.com, Health indicators: © Tint Media/Shutterstock.com, Social cohesion indicators: © Rena Schild/Shutterstock.com.

Corrigenda to OECD publications may be found on line at: www.oecd.org/about/publishing/corrigenda.htm.

© OECD 2024

The use of this work, whether digital or print, is governed by the Terms and Conditions to be found at https://www.oecd.org/termsandconditions.

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