Social protection spending, which includes pensions, sick pay, and unemployment benefits, accounts for 38% of total public expenditure, the National Accounts Institute (NAI) reported on Thursday.
Healthcare spending is the second largest category, representing 15% of expenses. Combined with social protection spending, this accounts for over half of public expenditure.
In absolute terms, this amounts to nearly €160 billion out of a total of more than €317.5 billion.
Economic affairs, including labour market policies, road infrastructure, and public transport, and general services each account for 13% of public spending. Education expenditures comprise 12% of the total budget.
Over the past ten years, the share of social protection spending has increased from 35.7% to 37.7%. Spending on sickness and disability rose from 5.4% to 7.0%, and pensions and survivor benefits from 19.2% to 21.3%.
Healthcare spending has remained relatively stable, increasing slightly from 14.3% to 14.8% over the last decade.
Public investment totals 17.4 billion euros, mainly allocated to economic affairs (35%), particularly transport and fundamental research, and general services (28%). The education sector receives 12.8% of public investment.
Federal administration accounts for one fifth of public investments, while Communities and Regions represent approximately half.
