Romania allocated only 12.8% of GDP for social protection in 2023, among European Union (EU) countries a lower percentage being recorded in Ireland (8.1% of GDP), Malta (9.7%) and Hungary (12.3%), shows an infographic by Monitorul Social, published on Tuesday.The Friedrich Ebert Foundation Romania project reveals that, at the opposite pole, the member states that allocate the highest percentage of GDP to social protection are: Finland (25.7%), France (23.4%), Austria (21.4%), Luxembourg (20.2%) and Belgium (20.1%).According to a press release from the organization, sent on Tuesday, when it comes to total social protection spending, Romania allocates approximately 1,766 euros/capita, as shown by the latest Eurostat data, in 2022. Following our country is Bulgaria (1,631 euros), both countries being at considerable distances from the EU average (8,212 euros) and from the Nordic and Western countries, as follows: Denmark (15,368 euros), Sweden (12,253 euros), Finland (11,414 euros), Germany (11,341 euros), France (11,462 euros), the Netherlands (11,708 euros) and Austria (11,283 euros).Public expenditure on social protection reflects the main function of the government in redistributing income and compulsory payments to the vulnerable population. It includes nine types of expenditure, including: pensions, sickness and disability benefits, unemployment benefits, child benefits, family benefits, social housing, social assistance, etc.In the European Union, social protection spending remained relatively high in 2023 due to government measures aimed at mitigating the impact of rising energy prices. "For Romania, the ratio of social protection to GDP is expected to continue to decline in 2025, as a result of the cessation of energy compensation payments to the population, but also as a result of measures to reduce the budget deficit," the analysis states.Of the total public spending on social protection, two categories stand out in which Romania does not fare well: unemployment benefit and social housing.Romania allocates only 0.2% of total social protection expenditures to unemployment benefits, which ranks us last in the EU, alongside Poland (0.82%) and Malta (0.87%). The highest budgetary allocations for unemployment benefits are recorded in Spain (6.22%), France (5.64%), Lithuania (5.24%) and Finland (5%).Social benefits for housing insurance place our country in the penultimate place in the European Union, with a budgetary allocation of only 0.04% of total social protection expenditures, next to Bulgaria (0%) and Croatia (0.01%). In percentage terms, close to Romania are Poland (0.12%), Slovenia (0.15%) and Slovakia (0.18%).
A team of Romanian paramedics won first place at the World Rescue Challenge 2025, a competition that sees first responders and trauma teams from around the world develop new skills and share knowledge. This year, the competition took place in Karlovac, Croatia, and was attended by two Romanian paramedics from Bucharest who have been working […]
Artmark, one of Romania’s leading auction houses, registered record sales of over EUR 15 million despite economic instability, showing the growth potential of the national art market, according to the company’s 2024-2025 market report. Overall, auction sales totaled EUR 11 million, up 8.2% compared to the previous year, while sales through the “Dependent de Artă” […]
Cybersecurity has become a major global priority, impacting individual users, companies, organizations, and public institutions. Social engineering, deepfakes, digital manipulation, and coordinated geopolitical attacks are fundamentally reshaping how we view the digital future. In this context, DefCamp, the largest cybersecurity and hacking conference in Central and Eastern Europe, reaffirms its role as a strategic hub […]
Romanian airline AnimaWings has received its fifth Airbus aircraft, an A220-300, as part of an ambitious expansion plan to build a fleet of 18 planes by the end of 2027, valued at over USD 1 billion. The A220-300 is the airline’s third of this type and will serve both domestic and international routes. Configured with […]
The well-known Romanian car brand Dacia announced the launch of the Duster Pick-Up, a utility vehicle with four seats and a capacity to transport up to 430 kg in the cargo space, on Wednesday, September 17. The car model is available in two engine versions, Hybrid 140 and Mild-hybrid 130 4×4, and has a starting […]
Romanian wrestler Ana Andreea Beatrice, 25, won bronze in the 55-kilogram category at the World Wrestling Championship in Zagreb. The Romanian bested Cuba’s Sanz Verdecia Yaynelis, 6-3, in an emotional match, to earn the medal. To get to the bronze, Ana Andreea Beatrice beat China’s Xuejing Liang in the preliminaries and the US wrestler Cristelle […]
