EU social benefits expenditure up 6% in 2023

In 2023, the total expenditure on social protection benefits in the EU reached €4,583 billion according to early estimates, a 6.1% increase compared with 2022. 

However, as social protection benefits expenditure represented 26.8% of the EU’s GDP, this represents a drop of 0.1 percentage points (pp) compared with the previous year. 

This information comes from the early estimates on social protection expenditure published recently by Eurostat. They are the main indicators of the European System of Integrated Social Protection Statistics (ESSPROS) and are provided by the reporting countries on a voluntary basis.

Source dataset: spr_exp_func 

Among EU countries for which 2023 estimates are published, social protection benefits expenditure as a percentage of GDP was highest in France (31.3% of GDP), Finland (31.2%) and Austria (29.7%), while it was lowest in Ireland (12%), Malta (13.2%) and Estonia (15.3%).  

Old age and sickness/health care benefits accounted for the main part of social protection benefits in all EU countries. Other categories included disability, survivors, family/children, unemployment, housing and social exclusion not classified elsewhere.

Source dataset: spr_exp_func 

In 2023, social protection benefits expenditure increased in all EU countries for which estimates are published. The largest increases between 2022 and 2023 were recorded in Slovakia (+18.9% compared with 2022), Poland (+18.4%) and Hungary (+15.2%), while the smallest increases were registered in Denmark (+2.3%), Italy (+3.5%) and Estonia (+3.8%).

For more information

• Statistics Explained article on social protection statistics – early estimates
• Statistics Explained article on social protection statistics – social benefits
• Thematic section on social protection 
• Database on social protection

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