Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income): Social contributions (% of revenue)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)'s social contributions (% of revenue) rose 3.71 percentage points on 2023 (from 18.6% to 22.31%).

Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2023), the average change was −0.67 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.91 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 3.89 percentage points in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.27 percentage points in 2011. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.52 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 59% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

What this measures

Social contributions are actual or imputed contributions payable to social insurance schemes to make provisions for social benefits to be paid. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of revenue which includes all transactions that add to the amount of economic value of a unit or sector.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.

All 17 values

Social contributions (% of revenue) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 0.6% (2017)
• Israel — 16% (2024)
• Jordan — 0.06% (2023)
• Lebanon — 0.00767% (2024)
• Malta — 15.26% (2024)
• United Arab Emirates — 9.03% (2024)

More public sector data for Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)

• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 5.02% (2025)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 3.91 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 130.05 billion (2025)
• Arms exports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 733 million (2025)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 1.44 million (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 1.39% (2020)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 18.62% (2025)
• Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)'s social contributions (% of revenue)?

22.31% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2008?

It is down 6.41 percentage points from 28.72% in 2008. The highest value was 32.61% in 2009 and the lowest 18.6% in 2023.

Is the latest change in social contributions (% of revenue) unusual for Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)?

In 2024, Europe & Central Asia (excluding high income)'s social contributions (% of revenue) rose 3.71 percentage points on 2023 (from 18.6% to 22.31%). Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2009 to 2023), the average change was −0.67 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.91 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.REV.SOCL.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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