Slight Decline of the Social Expenditure/GDP Ratio. Austria's Social Expenditure in 1996

Computed in accordance with the European System of Integrated Social Protection Statistics (ESSPROS), social expenditure in Austria totaled ATS 714 billion or 29.5 percent of GDP in 1996, a decline of 0.2 percent against 1994 and 1995 achieved in spite of weak economic growth. Social spending slightly exceeded the EU average of 28.4 percent of GDP (1995), but matched that of other countries of comparable social and economic structures. In the early 1990s, the introduction of substantial new benefits caused a steep rise in the social expenditure/GDP ratio, but measures taken to consolidate public budgets have dampened the pace of the increase since the mid 1990s.