Social protection expenditure (COFOG) i
30 countries with data for 2024 · Frequency: Annual · Unit: % of GDP · Basic
Source: Eurostat (gov_10a_exp), retrieved 2026-10-19 · View on Eurostat · See technical sheet
EU2719.6%
Euro area20.0%
Spain18.7% 10 of 30
Simple average16.7%
Highest · 
Finland26.5%
Finland26.5%Lowest · 
Ireland8.2%
Ireland8.2%Trend
Add or remove countries from the legend. Eurostat data, not seasonally adjusted unless stated.
Country ranking
| # | Country | Value | Year-on-year change | EU27 rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| · |  European Union (27) | 19.6% | +0.5 pp | — |
| · | Euro area (21) | 20.0% | +0.4 pp | — |
| · | Euro area (20, until 2025) | 20.1% | +0.5 pp | — |
| 1 | Finland | 26.5% | +0.9 pp | 1/27 |
| 2 |  France | 23.7% | +0.4 pp | 2/27 |
| 3 |  Austria | 22.8% | +1.6 pp | 3/27 |
| 4 |  Italy | 21.3% | +0.3 pp | 4/27 |
| 5 |  Belgium | 20.4% | +0.3 pp | 5/27 |
| 5 |  Germany | 20.4% | +0.9 pp | 5/27 |
| 7 |  Luxembourg | 19.9% | — | 7/27 |
| 8 |  Denmark | 19.6% | -0.1 pp | 8/27 |
| 9 |  Sweden | 19.1% | +0.2 pp | 9/27 |
| 10 |  Spain | 18.7% | +0.2 pp | 10/27 |
| 11 |  Norway | 18.5% | +1.1 pp | — |
| 12 |  Slovakia | 18.4% | +0.9 pp | 11/27 |
| 13 |  Poland | 18.3% | +1.5 pp | 12/27 |
| 14 |  Greece | 17.7% | -0.8 pp | 13/27 |
| 15 |  Slovenia | 17.1% | +0.3 pp | 14/27 |
| 15 |  Portugal | 17.1% | +0.7 pp | 14/27 |
| 17 |  Netherlands | 16.6% | +0.2 pp | 16/27 |
| 18 |  Lithuania | 14.7% | +0.8 pp | 17/27 |
| 19 |  Bulgaria | 14.4% | +0.6 pp | 18/27 |
| 20 |  Latvia | 14.1% | +0.6 pp | 19/27 |
| 21 |  Croatia | 13.8% | +1.0 pp | 20/27 |
| 21 |  Estonia | 13.8% | +0.3 pp | 20/27 |
| 23 |  Romania | 13.6% | +0.7 pp | 22/27 |
| 24 |  Czechia | 13.2% | -0.2 pp | 23/27 |
| 25 |  Switzerland | 12.7% | +0.2 pp | — |
| 26 |  Iceland | 12.6% | +1.9 pp | — |
| 27 |  Cyprus | 12.4% | -2.2 pp | 24/27 |
| 28 |  Hungary | 12.3% | 0.0 pp | 25/27 |
| 29 |  Malta | 9.8% | +0.2 pp | 26/27 |
| 30 | Ireland | 8.2% | +0.1 pp | 27/27 |
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About this indicator
- Which European country has the highest social protection expenditure (COFOG)?
- Finland, with 26.5% in 2024. The EU27 figure is 19.6%.
- Where does Spain rank?
- Spain: 18.7% in 2024, rank 10 of 30 countries.
- What does social protection expenditure (COFOG) measure?
- Social protection expenditure (COFOG), in % of GDP. Descriptive indicator: a higher or lower value is not better in itself; the ranking orders from highest to lowest.
- Where does the social protection expenditure (COFOG) data come from?
- Eurostat, dataset gov_10a_exp («General government expenditure by function (COFOG)»). RAC-EU downloads it from Eurostat's official API and checks it every day.
- How often is social protection expenditure (COFOG) updated?
- Annual. The latest period published is 2024; RAC-EU adds new data and revisions on the day Eurostat publishes them.
The full series since 1990, the chart and the analysis are in the Basic plan. See plans · Full methodology sheet →