Press Release 18/12/2017

SOCIAL PROTECTIION ACCOUNT 2016 (A)

In 2016 expenditure on social protection per capita increased by 1.9% in the Basque Country, standing at 7,940 euros per person

In 2016 expenditure increased in all functions except unemployment benefits, which continued to decrease

Expenditure on social protection in the Basque country grew by 1.9% in both absolute terms and per capita, according to Eustat data and following the European System of Integrated Social Protection Statistics (SEEPROS). Specifically, it went from 7,795 euros per person in 2015 to 7,940 euros in 2016, representing a total cost of 17,260 million euros. In relation to GDP, expenditure on social protection accounted for 24.4% in 2016, three tenths less than in 2015.

A detailed analysis of expenditure in the Basque Country reveals that, excluding administration costs, the value of benefits stood at 16,971.7 million euros in 2016, which was an increase of 2.0% from 2015.

The distribution of expenditure by function was the same as in previous years. In terms of 2015 data, the last year for which definitive data is available, the functions of Old Age and Illness/Healthcare had the greatest weight, accounting for 68.5% of expenditure on benefits.

The Old Age function, which includes pensions and care allowances for houses and home assistance, accounted for 42.6% of the total expenditure on benefits, reaching 7,095.6 million in 2015. The Illness/Healthcare function came second, with 4,316.9 million euros spent on it in 2015, 3.2% up on 2014.

The functions to receive the lowest proportion of expenditure in 2015 were Social Exclusion and Housing, which jointly accounted for 3.9% of the total expenditure on benefits and the Family/Children function, with 3.0%.

In 2015, expenditure increased on all functions except Housing and Unemployment, and the provisional 2016 data showed an increase in all functions, including Housing, and expenditure on unemployment benefits continued to fall. In fact, expenditure on the Unemployment function, which includes unemployment benefits and expenditure on development and training for employment, posted negative rates in recent years: in 2014 it was -18.3%, in 2015 the rate stood at -18.9% and in 2016 the advance data showed a rate of -12.6%.

In total cost, expenditure on Unemployment accounted for 7.5% of expenditure on benefits in 2015, as opposed to the 11.4% reached in 2013, the highest percentage since 2000. In 2016, according to advance data, it stood at 6.4%. This decrease was reflected in both the decrease in unemployment benefits, which in 2016 fell by 14.5% (17.5% and 11.8% in the two previous years) and registered unemployment, which also fell in those years: 8.9% in 2016, 6.7% in 2015 and 2.1% in 2014.

With regard to the institutional units that spend money on social protection, spending by the Social Security System and State Administrations accounted for 60.7% of total expenditure in 2015 - 0.1% up on 2014.

Expenditure by the Basque Administrations accounted for 31.8%, reaching 5,388.4 million euros in 2015, 2.8% more than in 2014. Within the group Basque Administrations there is the public system of social services created by the Basque Government, that includes Lanbide, Regional Councils and Local Administrations, which increased their expenditure by 2.7%, going from 1,878.6 million in 2014 to 1,928.5 million in 2015. On the other hand, expenditure in the public health system, included within Basque Administrations, rose by 2.8%, going from 3,364.5 million in 2014 to 3,459.9 million in 2015.

For the comparison with Europe, we analyse the latest data published by Eustat, corresponding to 2015. One of the indicators is expenditure on social protection per inhabitant, measured in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP); in the Basque Country it stood at 8,519, 36% higher than in Spain (6,263), and also above Ireland /7,506) and the United Kingdom (8,500). At the very top of the table are Luxembourg (15,014) and Denmark (11,327).

Another of the indicators is social protection expenditure as a percentage of GDP, which in the Basque Country stood at 24.7% in 2015, below the European Union average (29.0%) and at the same level as Spain (24.7%) and above countries like Luxembourg (22.0%), which in expenditure per capita was at the very top of the table.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tel: 945 01 75 62