Cyprus recorded its fourth consecutive annual increase in social protection spending in 2024, according to preliminary Eurostat data. Expenditures reached €6.97 billion, marking a 6.1% rise compared to €6.57 billion in 2023.

Despite this steady growth, Cyprus’ social protection spending represented only 19.13% of its GDP—still below the EU average of 27.3%, although slightly higher than the country’s 18.79% ratio in 2023. The data show a gradual upward trend since the pre-pandemic level of around 17–18% of GDP, indicating slow convergence with the European average.

The largest portion of Cyprus’ welfare spending continues to go to pensions and support for the elderly, which accounted for 40.8% of total expenditure, rising by 5.3% year-on-year.

Healthcare and medical benefits followed, absorbing 29.5% (around €2.05 billion) of the total, up by 7.1% compared to 2023.

Other categories included family and child support (9.1%), disability benefits (7.4%), unemployment and social exclusion support (6.2%), and housing and other aid (7%).

This distribution mirrors trends across the European Union, where old-age and health benefits dominate, accounting for 41.5% and 29.7%, respectively, of the EU’s total social protection spending.

Across the EU, total social protection expenditure reached €4.93 trillion in 2024 — an overall 6.9% increase compared to 2023. As a share of GDP, EU-wide social protection spending rose by 0.6 percentage points, from 26.7% to 27.3%.

The highest spending ratios were recorded in Finland (32.5%), France (31.9%), and Austria (31.8%), while the lowest were observed in Ireland (12.4%), Malta (13.4%), and Hungary (16.6%).

Every EU member state saw an increase in social protection spending during 2024. The largest year-on-year rises were reported in Estonia (+19.5%), Croatia (+17.8%), and Romania (+17.5%), whereas Greece (+3.2%), Sweden (+3.9%), and both Italy and Denmark (+4.3%) recorded more moderate increases.