Government expenditure on recreation, culture and religion

Data extracted on 29 February 2024

Planned article update: February 2025

Highlights

General government expenditure in the EU on recreation, culture and religion amounted to €182 billion or 1.1 % of GDP in 2022.

General government total expenditure on recreation, culture and religion, 2022 (% of GDP)
Source: Eurostat (gov_10a_exp)

This article analyses data on general government total expenditure on 'recreation, culture and religion' (according to the Classification of the Functions of Government - COFOG). It is part of a set of statistical articles based on general government expenditure by function.

Eurostat collects data on general government expenditure by economic function according to the international Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG) in the framework of the European System of National Accounts (ESA 2010).

Full article

Expenditure on 'recreation, culture and religion'

In 2022, Hungary (2.7 % of GDP) and Estonia (1.9 % of GDP), followed by Croatia (1.6 % of GDP), Slovenia (1.5 % of GDP) and France, Denmark, Finland, Malta and Czechia (all 1.4 % of GDP) as well as Iceland among EFTA countries (3.1 % of GDP) registered the largest ratios to GDP of government expenditure in the 'recreation, culture and religion' function compared with 1.1 % of GDP in the EU and 1.1 % of GDP the euro area (euro area 19). Ireland registered the lowest ratio (0.4 % of GDP) in 2022 devoted to 'recreation, culture and religion', followed by Bulgaria (0.6 % of GDP) and Cyprus (0.7 % of GDP).

Table 1: General government total expenditure on recreation, culture and religion, 2022 (% of GDP)
Source: Eurostat (gov_10a_exp)

The majority of expenditure on 'recreation, culture and religion' at EU level in 2022 was devoted to 'cultural services' (0.5 % of GDP), followed by 'recreational and sporting services' (0.4 % of GDP), 'broadcasting and publishing services' (0.2 % of GDP) and 'religious and other community services' (0.1 % of GDP).

Evolution of general government expenditure on 'recreation, culture and religion'

Over the period 1995-2022, the share of government expenditure on 'recreation, culture and religion' ranged between 2.0 and 2.6 % of total expenditure, with peaks in 2007 and 2008 and lower points 1995-1998 as well as in 2020-2022. As expenditure on recreation, culture and religion' is less impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of high energy prices compared to other functions of government expenditure, the relative share of 'recreation, culture and religion' in total government expenditure has decreased by 0.2 percentage points in 2020-2022 as compared to 2019. In absolute terms, at the level of the EU, expenditure on 'recreation, culture and religion' decreased in 2020 (by €0.8 billion) and increased by around €8.9 billion in 2021 and €10.6 billion in 2022.

Source data for tables and graphs

The detailed tables are available here.

Data sources and availability

Reporting of data to Eurostat

Annual government finance statistics (GFS) data are collected by Eurostat on the basis of the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010) transmission programme. Member States are requested to transmit, among other tables, table 1100, 'Expenditure of general government by function' twelve months after the end of the reference period. Table 1100 provides information about expenditure of the general government sector divided into main COFOG functions and ESA 2010 categories. The transmission of the COFOG I level breakdown (divisions) is compulsory for the years 1995 onwards for general government and its subsectors, whereas information on the COFOG II level (COFOG groups) is provided on a compulsory basis for the general government for the reference years from 2001 onwards. The main reference year used in this publication is 2022 as the latest year available at EU level.

Data was extracted on 29 February 2024.

Provisional data

While a significant effort was undertaken to harmonise the recording of government measures to alleviate the impact of increasing energy prices, a full harmonisation of data for the reference year 2022 was not yet achieved.

Data for the EU and euro area aggregates (2022), Belgium (2022), Germany (2020-2022), Spain (2022), France (2021-2022) and Portugal (2022) is provisional.

Definition of general government and its subsectors

The data relate to the general government sector of the economy, as defined in ESA 2010, paragraph 2.111: 'The general government sector (S.13) consists of institutional units which are non-market producers whose output is intended for individual and collective consumption, and are financed by compulsory payments made by units belonging to other sectors, and institutional units principally engaged in the redistribution of national income and wealth’.

Classification of functional expenditure of government

The Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG) classifies government expenditure into ten main categories (divisions known as the 'COFOG I level' breakdown): general public services; defence; public order and safety; economic affairs; environmental protection; housing and community affairs; health; recreation, culture and religion; education; social protection. These divisions are further broken down into 'groups' (COFOG II level).

For 'recreation, culture and religion', the groups are

'recreational and sporting services ',
'cultural services ',
'broadcasting and publishing services',
'religious and other community services',
'R&D Recreation, culture and religion',
'recreation, culture and religion n.e.c.'.

Further information is available in the Eurostat Manual on sources and methods for the compilation of COFOG Statistics.

Satellite accounts

Administrative expenditure data is additionally collected in so-called satellite accounts. In general, the amount of expenditure recorded in satellite accounts is expected to exceed the expenditure recorded under the respective COFOG division. More details on the comparability of COFOG data with satellite accounts data can be found in the COFOG manual.

Definition of general government total expenditure

Government total expenditure is defined in ESA 2010, paragraph 8.100 by using as reference a list of ESA 2010 categories. More detail is provided in the overview article on Government expenditure by function – COFOG.

Gross Domestic Product

Throughout this publication, the nominal GDP, i.e. GDP at current prices is used. The latest GDP available at time of publication is used.

Time of recording & symbols used

In the ESA 2010 system, recording is on an accrual basis, that is, when ‘economic value is created, transformed or extinguished, or when claims and obligations arise, are transformed or are cancelled.'

":" not available

"pp" percentage points

More data and information

For more country-specific notes, e.g. on missing data, please refer to the metadata published on Eurobase. The authors can be contacted at ESTAT-GFS@ec.europa.eu

Context

In the framework of the European System of National Accounts (ESA 2010), Eurostat collects data on general government expenditure by economic function according to the international Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG) – see methodological note.