Luxembourg leads the EU in social protection expenditure per capita at €20,840
Resource Database
According to Eurostat, spending on social protection in the EU 27 countries in 2023 amounted to 26.6 per cent of GDP, equivalent to €10,540 per person in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms. However, there are significant differences within the union.
Luxembourg leads in per capita expenditure
- Luxembourg - 20 840 euros
- Austria - 13 840 euros
- Germany - 13 445 euros
- Denmark - 13 011 euros
- France - 12 960 euros
However, as a share of GDP, Luxembourg finds itself only in 9th place (23 per cent of GDP), while France leads with 31.5 per cent, ahead of Finland, Austria and Germany.
Despite inflation (6% in 2023), social spending in the EU in real (inflation-adjusted) terms remained almost unchanged, rising by just 0.1% after falling by 3.3% in 2022. On average, they grew by 1.4 per cent per year between 2012 and 2022.
In France, by contrast, social spending fell for the second year in a row: -1.9% in 2023 after -2% in 2022.
In all EU countries, the main expenditure is on pensions: EU average: 47% of all social expenditure. Luxembourg has 41.4 per cent.
Health care comes second (30 per cent on average in the EU, 26.6 per cent in Luxembourg).
Interestingly, Luxembourg spends relatively more money on supporting the family, the disabled, the unemployed and fighting poverty - 32 per cent of all social spending, compared to the EU average of 23 per cent.
Luxembourg spends the most per person, but relative to GDP, less than the leading EU countries. This is due to the high level of income and, consequently, GDP. At the same time, the state pays more attention to supporting socially vulnerable groups compared to most European countries.
