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Eurostat · Italy and the 27 EU countries, since 2000

Is Italian public spending higher than in other EU countries?

In 2024, general government spending was 50.4% of gross domestic product (GDP) in Italy and 48.8% in the EU-27. Same year and same definition for every country.

Eurostat, general government spending: the State, regions, municipalities and social security funds together, measured with the same rules in every country and divided by GDP (gross domestic product: the value of everything the country produces in a year).

Question 1 of 3

Public spending in Italy as a share of GDP, 202450.4%In the EU-27, 48.8%: Italy is 1.6 percentage points higher. 4 of the other 26 countries have a higher share.

This includes the State, regions, municipalities and social security funds together. The State budget on other pages follows different rules and covers only part of this spending. Spending more relative to GDP does not mean better services.

Public spending, % of GDP, 2024: 7 of 27 countries and the EU-27

In the chart: the highest share (Finland) and the lowest (Ireland), France, Germany and Spain, Italy and the countries closest to Italy in the ranking (Belgium), with the EU-27 in its place. All 27 countries are in the details table.

  1. Finland57.7%
  2. France57.3%
  3. Belgium54.1%
  4. Italy50.4%
  5. Germany49.4%
  6. EU-2748.8%
  7. Spain45.5%
  8. Ireland22.4%

Public spending (% of GDP)

Provisional data according to Eurostat: France, Belgium, Germany and Spain. The bars start at zero, on the same scale for every row; the EU-27, striped, is an aggregate of the 27 countries. Same year for all: the latest that the 27 countries and the EU-27 all have. The difference in points and the choice of countries in the chart are portal calculations.

Details, method and source

Eurostat, gov_10a_exp: total expenditure (item TE) of general government (sector S13), as a percentage of GDP (PC_GDP), every year. The portal takes the latest year that all 27 countries and the EU-27 have: if a country does not have the latest year yet, the comparison stays on the year before for everyone. The EU-27 is the European total published by Eurostat, not the average of the countries, and it includes Italy; it is today’s 27 member states, also for the years when the Union had fewer. The table has all 27 countries, from the highest share; equal values are ordered by country code.

Eurostat, gov_10a_exp ↗

  1. Question 2 of 3

    Has it always been like this?

    Years in which Italian public spending was above the EU-27’s, from 2010 to 202413 of 15In 2024 Italy was 1.6 percentage points higher. The EU-27 has data from 2010: before that there is only Italy’s line, and those years are not counted. The highest Italian value in the series is from 2020: 56.8% of GDP.

    Public spending, % of GDP, year by year

    The values, year by year

    Eurostat shares; years and differences in points calculated by the portal from values to one decimal place. Tied years do not count as higher. Where a value is missing the line breaks: it is not a zero.

    Details, method and source

    Same Eurostat series (gov_10a_exp, TE, S13, PC_GDP), year by year. The portal counts the years that have both the Italian and the EU-27 figure, and among them those in which the Italian share was higher; no year is interpolated. Where Eurostat flags a break in the series («b») the line is interrupted and the point stays. The chart describes the values, not their causes.

    Eurostat, gov_10a_exp ↗

  2. Question 3 of 3

    Which functions account for the difference?

    Social protection, Italy minus EU-27, in points of GDP, 2024+1.8 pointsThen general public services, 1.7 points more. Below the EU-27 above all healthcare and education, 0.7 points less each. Differences in the share of GDP, not in the quality of services.

    Italy minus EU-27, by function, points of GDP, 2024: the 8 largest differences of 10

    Left of zero, the functions with a lower share than in the EU-27; right of zero, those with a higher share; at zero, the same share. Same scale for every row.

    • Social protection+1.8 points
    • General public services+1.7 points
    • Public order and safety+0.1 points
    • Defence−0.2 points
    • Economic affairs−0.2 points
    • Recreation, culture and religion−0.3 points
    • Healthcare−0.7 points
    • Education−0.7 points

    The ten functions are parts of the total spending in the first question: they should not be added to the total again. Same year for Italy and the EU-27 and for every function; the differences are a portal calculation, and they are neither per-person differences nor measures of effectiveness.

    Details, method and source

    Eurostat, gov_10a_exp: general government spending (sector S13) by function, according to the European COFOG classification, as a percentage of GDP. The portal takes the latest year in which Italy and the EU-27 have all ten functions and subtracts the EU-27 share from the Italian one, on the published values to one decimal place. The chart shows the eight largest differences in absolute value (ties in COFOG code order); the table has all ten functions. COFOG functions do not match the missions of the State budget; social protection covers more than pensions alone, and general public services also include interest on the debt.

    Eurostat, gov_10a_exp ↗ · Eurostat methodology ↗

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