Austria is among the countries with the highest public social spending, according to estimates published by the OECD on Thursday. In 2022, 29.4 percent of GDP went to the social sector in Germany, only France (31.6) and Italy (30.1) had more.
On average, in 2022, about 21.1 percent of GDP in OECD countries went to public social spending, the largest share of which is in the areas of pensions, health and family.
Pensions largest chunk
The largest share in Austria was pensions with 12.1 percent of GDP (confirmed data from 2021), only in four other countries a higher share of GDP went to this area (Italy, Greece, France, Finland). The OECD average was 7.4 percent.
In Austria, 7.3 percent of GDP went to the health sector, 2.5 percent to the family (child benefits, maternity leave, etc.) and 1 percent to unemployment benefits. Austria was therefore above the OECD average in all areas.
Compared to 2020, social spending has generally increased by leaps and bounds, according to the OECD publication. The reason for this was an 80 percent increase in spending, not a drop in GDP due to the corona pandemic.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
