a women hugs her child

In 2021, EU countries spent an average of €777 per person on family benefits, up from €561 in 2011. 

In total, €347 billion was spent on family benefits in 2021, an increase of 41% compared with 2011 (€247 billion). 

The countries with the highest expenditure on family benefits per person in 2021 were Luxembourg (€3 611), Denmark (€1 858) and Germany (€1 575). The countries with the lowest expenditure were Bulgaria (€161), Greece (€243) and Romania (€244).

Family benefits expenditure 2021. Bar chart. For more information click dataset below.

Source dataset: spr_exp_sum

Poland with the highest share of expenditure on family benefits

In the EU, family benefits represented 8.3% of the total spending on social protection benefits in 2021. 

In the same year, Poland (15% of the total social benefits), Luxembourg (14.8%) and Estonia (12.8%) registered the highest shares of expenditure on family benefits. Meanwhile, the lowest shares were in Italy (4.1%), the Netherlands (4.6%) and Cyprus (4.7%).

Family benefits expenditure 2021, % of total social protection benefits. Bar chart. For more information click dataset below.

Source dataset: spr_exp_sum

For more information

Methodology

In this article, ‘family benefits’ refer to ‘family/children benefits’ as classified by the European system of integrated social protection statistics (ESSPROS) methodology. They include support (except healthcare) in connection with the costs of pregnancy, childbirth and adoption, childcare and caring for other family members.