Be the first to comment!Government expenditure stood at over €2.5 m in 2009
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In 2009, expenditure on Social Protection made up more than 34 per cent of total General Government expenditure, followed by expenditure on General Public Services, Health and Education.
Total General Government expenditure for 2009 stood at €2,525.5 million, down by €47.3 million compared to the previous year. This was triggered by a decline in Economic Affairs of €138.5 million, which was mainly due to the reclassification of the Malta Shipyards, the voluntary retirement schemes, and the reduction in fuel and energy subsidies. The decrease was partly offset by increases in Social Protection (+€44.7 million) due to additional outlays on social benefits in cash, and General Public Services (+€25.1 million). Other increases were recorded in Defence (+€13.8 million), Education (+€10.4 million), Environment Protection (+€8.6 million) and Health (+€8.1 million).
General Government expenditure
The pattern is consistent over the years, with the major expenditure on Social Protection making up 34.3 per cent of total expenditure in 2009, followed by General Public Services (+16.7 per cent), Health (+12.8 per cent) and Education (+12.7 per cent). In contrast, expenditure on Housing and Community amenities had the lowest contribution of total expenditure, followed by Recreation and Culture, representing 0.7 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively.
For 2009, the share of total General Government expenditure as a percentage of GDP edged down to 43.3 per cent, compared to 44.4 per cent in 2008.
The data of General Government expenditure at the second-digit (more detailed) level allows for further analysis of public spending. These data are available for the period 2001-2009, with data for 2005-2009. For 2009, the largest COFOG groups are related to old age expenditure (€486.9 million) which represents 56.2 per cent of total expenditure on Social Protection, hospital services (€188.4 million), making up 58.1 per cent of total expenditure on Health, and public debt transactions with an expenditure of €185.8 million.
