Social aid declining in Europe: Eurostat

(BRUSSELS) - European Union nations devoted over a quarter of their gross domestic product (GDP) to social protection in 2006 but the rate is falling, the official Eurostat agency reported Tuesday.

The overall rate of social spending stood at 26.9 percent of GDP but national differences within the 27 EU member states remained large.

France headed the social list, spending 31.1 percent of GDP on healthcare, family, unemployment and housing benefits in 2006.

Sweden and Belgium were also recorded as spending over 30 percent of GDP on social protection that year.

At the other end of the spectrum were eastern EU nations with Romania at 14 percent, Lithuania at 13.2 percent and Estonia at 12.4 percent.

The general overall trend was for declining social spending, though all the figures easily predate the credit-crunch, recession and associated government bailouts seen since the latter stages of 2008.

The European Union's expenditure on social protection was recorded at 27.2 percent of GDP in 2003, then 27.1 percent in 2004 and 2005, before the latest figure of 26.9 percent for 2006.

Social aid when tallied per inhabitant sees Luxembourg rise to the top of the list with 13,458 euros spent on each of its residents in 2006, easily topping the Netherlands (9,099 euros) and Sweden (8,998 euros).

The poorer eastern EU states fared poorly in comparison, with Bulgaria and Romania offering just 1,200 euros per head.

For the EU as a whole the figure stood at 8,520 euros.

Almost half the social spending, 46 percent, went on old age pensions and "survivors benefits" -- payouts to a family after the loss of the breadwinner.

Healthcare took the next biggest chunk of 29 percent of social spending followed by disability benefits and family benefits at eight percent each.

Social protection expenditure in 2006- further details - Eurostat