Archive:Social protection statistics
- Data from September 2009, most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
Social protection encompasses all interventions from public or private bodies intended to relieve households and individuals of the burden of a defined set of risks or needs, provided that there is neither a simultaneous reciprocal nor an individual arrangement involved.
Main statistical findings
Social protection expenditure in the EU-27 averaged over one quarter (26.9 %) of GDP in 2006. Its share was highest in Sweden (30.7 %) and France (31.1 %), and was higher than 25 % in 11 of the EU-15 Member States. In contrast, social protection expenditure represented less than 20 % of GDP in all of the Member States that have joined the EU since 2004, with the exception of Slovenia and Hungary, as well as being below this threshold in Ireland (18.2 %).
The use of a purchasing power standard (PPS) allows an unbiased comparison of social protection expenditure per capita between countries, taking account of differences in price levels. The highest level of expenditure on social protection per capita in 2006 was registered for Luxembourg ( ) (PPS 13 458 per capita), followed some way behind by the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Austria, Belgium and France where social protection per capita was between PPS 8 200 and PPS 9 100. In contrast, expenditure in the Baltic Member States, Bulgaria and Romania was less than PPS 2 000 per capita. These disparities between countries are partly related to differing levels of wealth and also reflect differences in social protection systems, demographic trends, unemployment rates and other social, institutional and economic factors.
Among social protection benefits (the largest component of total expenditure), a majority of the EU-27’s expenditure was directed towards either old age (for example, pensions) or to sickness and healthcare; together these two items accounted for close to 70 % of total EU-27 benefits in 2006. Benefits related to children, disabilities, survivors and unemployment each accounted for shares of between 5 % and 8 % of total expenditure, while housing accounted for 2.3 %.
Expenditure on pensions across the EU-27 was equivalent to 11.9 % of GDP in 2006, ranging from a high of 14.7 % in Italy to a low of 5.0 % in Ireland. Expenditure on care for the elderly in the EU-27 accounted for 0.5 % of GDP in the same year, although Sweden reported a rate that was almost five times as high; expenditure on the elderly fell to less than 0.1 % of GDP in Greece, Estonia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus.
A breakdown of social protection receipts across the EU-27 in 2006 shows that the majority of receipts could be attributed to employers’ social contributions (38.2 %) and general government contributions (37.6 %). Approximately one fifth (20.6 %) of all EU-27 receipts were funded by contributions made by protected persons.
Pension systems can also play a key role in allowing retirees to maintain living standards they previously enjoyed in the later years of their working lives. The aggregate replacement ratio measures the difference between retirement benefits (excluding other social benefits) for pensioners (aged 65 to 74 years old) and salaries received by those aged 50 to 59.
Average pension levels were generally lower than the earnings of those aged 50 to 59 in 2007. This was particularly the case in Cyprus (where pensions represented a little less than 30 % of the earnings among those aged 50 to 59) but also in Denmark, Latvia and Bulgaria (under 40 %). The ratio was highest in France, Luxembourg, Austria and Sweden, but even in these Member States it was only just above 60 %. It should be borne in mind that these relatively low ratios may reflect low coverage and/or low income replacement from statutory pension schemes and maturing pension systems, as well as incomplete careers or an under-declaration of earnings.
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