Finland Times

The total expenditure of the government increased EUR 4.6 billion in the year 2011, which was 4.6 percent higher compared to the previous year, according to the Statistics Finland.

The report released here recently, however, said that the share of total expenditure of gross domestic product (GDP) has been reduced as it grew in nominal terms faster than public expenditure. In 2010, total expenditure increased by 3.1 percent.

The share of total general government expenditure  was 55.0 percent in 2011, which diminished from  55.8 percent  of the year 2010.

The highest general government expenditure was again social protection where EUR 44.9 billion was spent, which was 23.7 percent of GDP. EUR 33.1 billion of the social protection expenditure was social benefits in cash, i.e. pensions and allowances paid to households. The second largest share of expenditure was EUR 14.8 billion in health sector where the third  expenditure was in general public services.

About 40 percent of consolidated general government expenditure was spent in the local government sector and 32 percent in the sector of social security funds in 2011. The remaining 28 percent represented central government expenditure.

General government consumption expenditure went up by 4.4 per cent in 2011, which is at the same rate as total expenditure. The share of consumption expenditure of GDP was 24.4 percent.

The biggest function group of consumption expenditure was health. Consumption expenditure depicts current expenses incurred by general government from the production of services.

General government total expenditure here refers to consolidated general government expenditure. Consolidated expenditure excludes property expenditure, capital transfers and income transfers between general government sub-sectors, e.g. income transfers from central government to local government.

Since total expenditure is by nature gross expenditure, in the case of the local government sector it includes, for instance, acquisitions made by municipalities from their own municipal enterprises. These acquisitions are correspondingly included in the sector's total revenue.

 General government comprises central government, local government, employment pension schemes and other social security funds.