UE: EUROSTAT, ITALIA IN CODA PER SPESE PROTEZIONE SOCIALE

(ANSA) - BRUXELLES, 23 APR - L'Italia è tra i paesi Ue che dedicano meno risorse alla protezione sociale, e la maggior parte della sua spesa in questo settore e' dedicata alle pensioni e alla sanità, mentre sono sensibilmente sotto la media europea le risorse dedicate a famiglie e disoccupati: è quanto emerge dai dati pubblicati oggi dall'Ufficio statistico europeo (Eurostat).
Secondo i dati più recenti a disposizione - relativi al 2001 - in media i Quindici dedicano il 27,5% del proprio prodotto interno lordo (Pil) alle spese per la protezione sociale, percentuale che in Italia scende al 25,6% (undicesimo posto nell'Ue). Il livello massimo si registra in Svezia (31,3%) ed il minimo in Irlanda 14,6%.

L'Italia è in assoluto il paese che dedica la maggior parte delle risorse destinate alla protezione sociale alle pensioni di vecchiaia e a di reversibilità (62,3% contro il 46% della media europea), ed è invece nelle ultime posizioni per la percentuale di risorse assegnate alle famiglie (4% contro 8%), ai disoccupati (1,6% contro 6,2%) e all'alloggio e all'esclusione sociale (0,3% contro 3,6%).

 

 

53/2004  -  23 April 2004

 

Social protection in Europe between 1992 and 2001

Per capita social protection expenditure in the EU rose by almost 2% per annum

Total expenditure accounted for 27.5% of GDP in the EU in 2001

 

During the period 1992-2001, per capita social protection expenditure¹ at constant prices in the EU increased by an average of 1.9% per annum. Social protection expenditure accounted for 27.5% of GDP in 2001, putting it at much the same level as in 1992 (27.7%). The proportion had reached a peak of 28.8% in 1993, before falling steadily to 27.3% in 2000.

This information comes from a report2 published today by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, on social protection in Europe between 1992 and 2001.

Social protection in Europe in 2001

	Expenditure in per capita PPS3 in 2001 EU15=100	Per capita expenditure* Annual average growth 1992-2001 (%)	Share of social protection expenditure in GDP (%)
			1992	1996	2001
Belgium	108	1.7	27.7	28.6	27.5
Denmark	122	1.9	30.3	31.4	29.5
Germany	114	1.7	27.6	29.9	29.8
Greece	62	5.6	21.2	22.9	27.2
Spain	60	1.7	22.4	21.9	20.1
France	113	1.7	29.3	31.0	30.0
Ireland	60	4.7	20.3	17.8	14.6
Italy	97	1.3	26.2	24.8	25.6
Luxembourg	165	4.1	22.5	24.1	21.2
Netherlands	115	0.9	31.9	30.1	27.6
Austria	117	1.9	27.8	29.8	28.4
Portugal	57	6.3	18.4	21.2	23.9
Finland	88	0.6	33.6	31.6	25.8
Sweden	110	0.8	37.1	33.9	31.3
United Kingdom	97	3.0	27.9	28.0	27.2
EU15	100	1.9	27.7	28.4	27.5
Iceland	78	4.3	18.2	18.8	20.1
Norway	128	3.6	28.2	26.0	25.6
EEA	101	1.9	27.7	28.4	27.5
Switzerland	119	2.8	23.3	26.9	28.9
Hungary	35	:	:	:	19.9
Malta	:	:	:	:	18.3
Slovakia	31	:	:	24.7	25.6
Slovenia	63	:	:	19.8	19.1

* Constant 1995 prices.

: Data not available

 

 

Social protection expenditure rose at three times the average rate in Portugal and Greece between 1992 and 2001

In the EU in 2001, average social protection expenditure as a percentage of GDP continued to mask major disparities between Member States. The proportion was highest in Sweden (31.3%), France (30.0%), Germany (29.8%) and Denmark (29.5%), while Ireland (14.6%) and Spain (20.1%) recorded the lowest ratios.

The differences between Member States were also pronounced in terms of per capita social protection expenditure. The highest values in 2001 were observed in Luxembourg⁴ (165% of the EU average), Denmark (122%) and Austria (117%), and the lowest in Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Greece, where per capita expenditure was around 60% of the EU average.

To some extent, these differences reflect differences in living standards, but they are also indicative of the diversity of national social protection systems and of the demographic, economic, social and institutional structures specific to each country.

Over the period 1992-2001, per capita social protection expenditure increased in real terms in all Member States, but at different rates. Portugal (+6.3% per annum on average), Greece (+5.6%) and Ireland (+4.7%) registered the highest growth rates, compared to +1.9% for the EU. The lowest growth rates were observed in Finland (+0.6%), Sweden (+0.8%) and the Netherlands (+0.9%). As a result, the ratio between the Member State with the highest per capita expenditure to the one with the lowest went from 3.5 in 1992 to 2.9 in 2001.

Almost half of EU expenditure is on old age and survivors

In 2001, expenditure on “old age and survivors” accounted for 46% of total social protection expenditure in the EU. It accounted for the largest share in all Member States with the exception of Ireland⁵, where barely 15% of the population is over 60, as against an average of 22% in the EU. Italy⁶, which has a high proportion of persons aged over 60, allocated 62% of its expenditure to this function.

Expenditure on “sickness and health care” took second place in the EU, with a 28% share of total social protection expenditure. Among the Member States, the proportion spent on “sickness and health care” varied from 20.3% in Denmark to 43.4% in Ireland.

In the EU 8% of total expenditure went on “family and children”, ranging from under 3% in Spain to almost 17% in Luxembourg. “Disability” benefits accounted for about 14% of the total in Finland and Luxembourg⁷, as against 5% in Greece and Ireland, with the EU average standing at 8%. When it comes to expenditure on ″unemployment″, the proportion was highest in Spain (almost 13%), compared to an overall EU average of 6%.

 

Distribution of social benefits in 2001 by group of functions (%)

	Old age, survivors	Sickness, health care	Family, children	Disability	Unemploy-ment	Housing, social exclusion n.e.c*
Belgium	43.7	25.0	8.9	9.0	11.7	1.6
Denmark	38.0	20.3	13.3	12.5	10.0	6.0
Germany	42.4	28.8	10.4	7.7	8.2	2.5
Greece	51.3	25.8	6.9	5.0	6.0	5.1
Spain	45.3	30.0	2.6	7.6	12.9	1.7
France	43.7	29.2	9.5	6.0	7.1	4.4
Ireland	24.8	43.4	12.5	5.2	8.3	5.8
Italy	62.3	26.1	4.0	5.7	1.6	0.3
Luxembourg	39.4	25.4	16.8	14.2	2.5	1.6
Netherlands	41.8	30.4	4.4	11.6	5.0	6.8
Austria	49.5	24.7	10.6	8.1	5.0	2.1
Portugal	45.8	31.3	5.6	12.3	3.6	1.3
Finland	36.6	24.5	12.1	13.7	9.8	3.3
Sweden	39.1	29.2	9.6	12.4	5.6	4.3
United Kingdom	46.5	28.1	6.8	9.4	2.9	6.3
EU	46.0	28.2	8.0	8.0	6.2	3.6
Iceland	30.6	38.5	13.0	13.6	1.5	2.9
Norway	30.5	34.5	12.8	16.5	2.6	3.1
EEA	45.7	28.3	8.1	8.2	6.1	3.5
Switzerland	51.7	24.9	5.1	12.8	2.4	3.1
Hungary	42.6	27.5	12.9	10.1	3.4	3.5
Malta	53.8	25.5	6.5	6.1	6.0	2.0
Slovakia	45.5	31.4	8.9	8.7	3.7	1.8
Slovenia	39.7	33.1	8.6	8.1	3.4	7.1

* n.e.c.: not covered elsewhere

 

1.       Social protection expenditure and receipts are calculated in line with the methodology of the 1996 version of the ESSPROS (European System of integrated Social PROtection Statistics) Manual. Expenditure includes social benefits, administration costs and other expenditure linked to social protection schemes.

2.       Eurostat, Statistics in Focus, Theme 3, 6/2004 "Social Protection in Europe". More detailed data entitled “European social statistics: Social protection expenditure and receipts” have just been published in the Eurostat detailed tables series, ISBN 92-894-7052-6, available free of charge in pdf format at the Eurostat web site.

3.       The PPS (purchasing power standard) is an artificial currency which allows for differences in national price levels, making it easier to compare data.

4.       In Luxembourg, a large share of benefits is paid to persons living outside the country. Adjusted for this characteristic, per capita expenditure would fall from 165% of the EU average to 148%.

5.       The data for Ireland on (funded) occupational pensions for private-sector employees which should come under "old age and survivors" are not available.

6.       In Italy, the "old age and survivors" functions also include certain benefits which partly come under the "unemployment" function. Such benefits account for around 6% of total social benefits.

7.       In Luxembourg, the disability benefits have included a new class of insurance since 1999 which accounts for around 3% of total social benefits. A major part of these benefits should be recorded under the old-age function.