Expenditure on families and children

In the Nordic countries the level of expenditure on benefits in kind is slightly higher than the expenditure on cash.

Based on the rate of expenditure in percent of GDP the available data, from Norway and Iceland, indicate that the level of expenditure has increased in the period leading up to 2003.

In most countries, the level has been at a constant level, or slightly decreasing since then. The level of expenditure is the highest in Denmark and the lowest in Iceland, though both Iceland and Norway have experienced an increase in the year of 2020. This is most likely a consequence of Covid-19, because of the reduction in GDP in 2020 compared to the year before.

Since 2010, the expenditure on cash benefits have been at an almost constant level in all Nordic countries, except for Iceland where the level has increased since 2016.

The level of expenditure on cash benefits for e.g., maternity, and paternity leave is the highest in Norway and lowest in Iceland, though the level has increased in Iceland. From 2018-2019, is the level of expenditure in Iceland at the same level as other Nordic countries.

The level of expenditure on benefits in kind is somewhat higher in Denmark and Norway compared to the expenditure on cash benefits, except for the other countries where the level is just slightly higher.

In all Nordic countries the level of expenditure has increased since 2010, except for Denmark where the expenditure has experienced a slight decrease in the years immediately following 2010 and remained at about the same level since then.

The data on expenditure consists also of sources of financing. The financing of social expenditure comes from several sources such as public authorities, employers, employees, and other.

Due to differences in national policies, there is some differences in the ways that expenditure on families and children is financed in the Nordic countries.

All Nordic countries have a high level of financing of expenditure on families and children from public authorities. The level is highest in countries like Denmark and Norway, and lowest in Iceland. From 2017, the level of expenditure is at about the same level in Sweden, Finland, and Iceland.

The level of financing from employers is much lower compared to public financing in all countries and is non-existent in Denmark. The level of financing is highest in Sweden and generally lowest in Finland.

If national policies allow for a structure of funding to secure a benefit, the sum of financing will often be higher than the total expenditure any given year.

In Nordic countries that rely on taxation to finance a benefit area, there is often no transfers to or from funding. On the other hand, the transfers to or from funding can be substantial in cases, where a country rely on funding to secure future expenditure.

The level of transfers is derived from the calculation of the sum of all financing subtracted the total expenditure. If the result is positive, it indicates a profit and therefore a transfer to funding purposes. However, if the transfer is negative, the deficit indicates that the expenditure has been supplemented by funding.