For every €13.4 out of €100 spent in the Maltese economy, go to social benefits, health, pensions and housing aid according to the latest statistics by Eurostat. Although this figure may seem to be high, Malta with 13.4%, is recorded to have the second-lowest social benefits to GDP ratio following Ireland at 12.4%. Hungary comes third lowest with 16.6%. The total average social protection expenditure in the EU is at 27% and increased by 7% in 2024.
EU member-states spent up to €2 trillion in 2024 on health and pensions and these formed up to 41.5% of the total social protection expenditure while another €1.4 trillion (29.7%) went to additional benefits such as unemployment and housing. In 2024 the EU member states spent up to €4.9 trillion in social protection.
The highest ratio of social protection expenditure to GDP is in Finland with 32.5% and France with 31.9%, followed by Austria (31.8%). The highest increases in social protection expenditure were recorded in Estonia (+19.5%), Croatia (+17.8%) and Romania (+17.5%), while the smallest increases were registered in Greece (+3.2%), Sweden (+3.9%) and Italy and Denmark (each +4.3%).
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