Preliminary estimates show that total spending on social protection benefits in the EU reached €4,307 billion in 2022, an increase of 3% compared to 2021.

In 2022, spending on social protection benefits increased in almost all EU countries for which estimates for 2022 are published. The exceptions were Malta, where it fell by 5%, and Ireland, where there was no percentage change compared to 2021. The highest increases between 2021 and 2022 (expressed in national currencies) were recorded in Bulgaria (+28% compared to 2021), Cyprus (+18%) and Hungary (+10%), while the smallest increases were in Austria (+1%), France, Denmark, Slovakia, Finland and Germany (all +2%).

This information comes from preliminary estimates of social protection expenditure recently published 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. 

Although spending on social protection in national currency has increased in most EU countries, looking at spending as a percentage of GDP, the data show a decline in 2022. This is due to GDP growth outstripping spending on social benefits, in a rebound effect from the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2022, spending on social protection benefits accounted for 27.2% of EU GDP, a decrease of 1.5 percentage points from 2021.

Between 2021 and 2022, expenditure on social protection benefits as a percentage of GDP decreased in all EU countries (with preliminary estimates available) except Cyprus, Bulgaria and Luxembourg. In these cases, there was an increase in expenditure on social protection benefits as a percentage of GDP: +1.4 pp for Cyprus to 23.2% of GDP, +1.2 pp for Bulgaria to 19.5% of GDP and +0.1 pp for Luxembourg to 21.6% of GDP. The largest decreases were observed in Malta (-2.8 pp), Austria (-2.6 pp) and Denmark (-2.2 pp).

Among EU countries for which estimates are published for 2022, expenditure on social protection benefits as a percentage of GDP was highest in France (32% of GDP), Austria and Italy (both 30%), while it was lowest in Ireland (11%), Malta (15%), and Estonia, Lithuania and Hungary (all 16%).

Old-age benefits and sickness/health care accounted for the largest share of social protection benefits in all EU countries for which data are published. Other categories included disability, survivors, family/children, unemployment, housing and social exclusion not elsewhere classified.

The full datasets for the preliminary estimates for 2022 on social protection benefits are available on Eurostat's thematic section on social protection statistics. All data on social protection are available for 2021 and previous years in the database dedicated to social protection statistics.