Social Expenditure Ratio for 2000 0.2 Percentage Points Lower than in 1999

Seen against the background of the relatively favourable economic conditions prevailing in 2000 (3.5 percent in real economic growth), expenditure for social security totalled € 59.6 billion, an increase over 1999 by 1.7 percent in real terms and thus markedly lower than the rise in GDP. As a result, the social expenditure ratio declined by 0.2 percentage points down to 28.8 percent. In the EU in general, the ratio reached an average of 27.4 percent in 2000. It is highest in Sweden and Denmark, followed by France and Germany, with Austria at fifth place.