The Statistical Office of the European Union “Eurostat” has published an analysis of the budget expenditures of the EU member states in 2019, which shows that on average the European countries have allocated the most money for social protection. Comparing the budget funds allocated to the health sector from the national GDP in 2019, Lithuania has allocated the most to health – 6.3%, followed by Estonia – 5.3% and Latvia – 4.2%.
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Among the European Union countries, Finland (24% of GDP) and France (23.9%) have the largest share of social protection funds, while Ireland has the least 8.9%. In Latvia, where the state budget in relation to the total GDP in 2019 was 38.4%, the most funds were spent on social protection (12.1%), education (5.8%) and health care (4.2%).
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Meanwhile, in Estonia, where budget expenditure as a share of GDP was 38.9%, most spending was on social protection (13.2% of GDP), education (6.0%) and health care (5.3%). In Lithuania, on the other hand, where the state budget accounted for 34.5% of GDP, most funds were allocated to social protection (12.3% of GDP), health care (6.2%) and education (4.6%).
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Comparing budget expenditures on health care in the European Union countries, Austria (8.3% of GDP), Denmark (8.2%) and France (8.0%) spent the most money on this purpose. Sweden (6.9% of GDP), Denmark (6.3%) and Belgium (6.2%) have spent the most money on education, with Estonia ranking high in the list.
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“The Baltic States are taking a step in the right direction by investing in education, and there is a particularly rapid development in the education sector in the IT sector. There is a shortage of IT specialists throughout the Baltics, and in recent years For example, in Estonia, where GDP growth was 4.3% in 2019, the fastest growth was observed in the IT sector, which makes a significant contribution to the Baltic budget, and there is fierce competition between Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania to attract IT specialists. One step ahead of the other Baltic countries is Latvia, which is ahead of Estonia and Lithuania in terms of wage growth in the IT sector, “says Artjoms Umanets, an analyst at the Estonian company RIA.com Marketplaces.
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For comparison, in the near Ukraine of the Baltic States, in 2019 he spent the most funds on social protection, public services, public order and defense. Ukraine spent only 3.5% of GDP on health care.
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“The situation in Ukraine is very difficult. Ukraine’s budget spending on social protection is one of the highest in Europe, largely due to the pension reform that has not taken place so far. The protracted military conflict in Donbass is also having a significant impact on budget spending. army and the overall defense budget, “explains Umanets.
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