In 2022, total General Government expenditure increased by €287.7 million over 2021, amounting to €6,866.2 million, the National Statistics Office said today.

Social protection remained the core function of government expenditure in 2022, representing 25.6% of total General Government expenditure, followed by expenditure on Economic affairs and Health.

The NSO noted that in 2022, the largest contribution of government expenditure went to Old age (€1,081.7 million), Hospital services (€563.2 million) and Executive and legislative organs, financial, fiscal and external affairs (€481.3 million).

Total outlay on Health stood at €966.1 million, a decline of €31.9 million, mainly as a result of lower expenditure on public health when compared to the previous year.

When expressed as a percentage of GDP, the expenditure in 2022 was 39.3%, down from 42.9 in 2021.

The three main expenditure categories in 2022 were compensation of employees (26.7%), social benefits in cash or in kind (21.7%) and intermediate consumption (19.5%).

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