Lithuania’s spending on social security among EU’s lowest

In 2015, Lithuania earmarked 11.1 percent of GDP to social protection and was only ahead of Ireland 9.6 percent.

The respective ratios for Latvia and Estonia were 11.5 percent and 12.9 percent, respectively, while the EU average stood at 19.2 percent.

Overall, general government expenditure in Lithuania was one of the lowest in the EU and accounted for 35.1 percent of GDP in 2015, with smaller government spending only reported in Ireland (29.4 pct). The respective numbers in Latvia and Estonia were 37.1 percent and 40.3 percent.

Across the EU, general government expenditure accounted for 48.5 percent of GDP on average in 201 5.