In 2018, the EU's 27 Member States spent almost €106 billion of government expenditure on environmental protection, representing 1.7% of total government expenditure. This is equivalent to 0.8% of GDP.
Overall, in the EU, general government expenditure on environmental protection as a percentage of GDP remained stable since the beginning of the time series in 2001.
Highest share of expenditure on environmental protection in the Netherlands, lowest in Finland
In 2018, the ratio of government environmental protection expenditure to GDP varied across EU Member States from 0.2% in Finland, 0.3% in both Cyprus and Lithuania, 0.4% in Denmark, Ireland, Hungary and Austria to over 1% in Malta (1.2%), Belgium and Greece (both 1.3%) and the Netherlands (1.4%).
Source dataset: gov_10a_exp
This information on general government expenditure for the function 'environmental protection' (according to the Classification of the Functions of Government - COFOG) is complemented with an online article.
For more information, refer to the set of statistical articles based on government expenditure by function. An interactive infographic is also available on the Eurostat website.
Note:
- This information is based on general government expenditureon the function 'environmental protection' (according to the Classification of the Functions of Government - COFOG).
- The European Union (EU) includes 27 EU Member States. The United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020. Further information is published here.
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