Public spending
Keep track of France’s public spending, Social security and pensions debt and deficit.
Public spending
PUBLIC SPENDING
Total expenditures by the State, social security agencies, local authorities and related agencies and bodies
Public spending rose in 2025 to €1,695 billion. (+43 bn € in volume and +70 bn in value compared to 2024). This compares with €1,607.4 billion in 2023.
Gross domestic product (GDP)
Total new economic wealth generated in 2026
2,919.9 billion in 2024. Growth forecast for 2025: 2% (0.7% in volume, 1.3% in price).
Public expenditure/GDP
Total public spending as a percentage of GDP (2025)
0
,2%
compared with 56.9% in 2023. France ranks second in both the euro zone and the EU, behind Finland (57.6%). EU average: 49.6%. Germany: 49.5%. Netherlands: 43.9%. United States (37.6%).
RANKING BY GDP/CAPITA
France’s position in the IMF’s world ranking of wealth produced per capita (2024)
0
th
GDP in current dollars. France was 13th in 1980 (ahead of the United States), 11th in 1990, 19th in 2005.
SOCIAL EXPENSES
Social security debt
Amount of social security administration debt (ASSO) carried by the Social Debt Redemption Fund (CADES), the URSSAF National Fund (formerly Acoss), Unedic and the National Pension Fund for Local Government Employees (CNRACL)
The Social Security Debt Redemption Fund (CADES) can no longer take on Social Security debt and is repaying its existing debt, which is decreasing each year (137.5 billion in 2025). It is now Acoss that carries this debt through short-term bond issues. From 19.1 billion in 2024, this is expected to rise to 42 billion in 2025, 65 billion in 2026 and 113 billion in 2028.
SOCIAL SECURITY DEFICIT
Balance of all compulsory basic schemes and FSV in 2026
Projected deficit of €19.4 billion. The initial deficit of €23.4 billion for 2026 will be artificially reduced by €4 billion in compensation from the State. Social security has accumulated a deficit of nearly €70 billion since 2022 (€23 billion in 2025, €18.3 billion in 2024, €11.1 billion in 2023 and €17 billion in 2022).
Social expenditures
All social benefits (health, old age, family, employment, housing, poverty and social exclusion)
France is the world champion in social spending (31.9% of GDP in 2024).
Social spending/GDP
Total social expenditure (health, old age, family, employment, housing, poverty and social exclusion) in 2023
0
,5%
For the ninth year running, France has topped the European rankings for social protection expenditure. The EU average is 27.3 per cent, a difference of almost 5 percentage points, or 140 billion euros.
social security expenditure
Annual social expenditure (health, old age, family, employment, housing, poverty and social exclusion)
Forecast to end 2026: expenditure of €684,2 billion
ADVERTISE HERE
HEALTH EXPENSES
Annual health insurance expenditure (ONDAM) in 2026
Forecast to end 2025: €265.9 billion (+3.4% on 2024)
cost of work SICK dAYS
Cost of sick leave under the general scheme in 2025
0
.9
billions €
This represents a 45% increase since 2019. France has a workplace absenteeism rate of 4.76 per cent in 2025, one of the highest in Europe.
Retirement expenses
Total gross pension expenditure estimated for 2026
Forecast to end 2026: €430 billion
Retirement system expenditure/GDP
Total gross pension expenditure in 2024
0
.1%
EU average: 12.3% (2025)
Pension system deficit
Real-time cumulative deficit amount between now and 2030
Deficit 2025: €6.6 billion; €15 billion in 2035 and €30 billion in 2045
AVERAGE PENSION
Average direct entitlement pension
(basic and supplementary schemes)
0
,575
€ net
that is, approximately 1.705 euros gross pension.
Unemployment insurance debt
Amount of debt carried by Unédic
€61.5 billion is forecast by the end of 2026. The State has withdrawn €12.05 billion over the period 2023–2026, which has halted the joint body’s debt reduction trajectory. It will withdraw a further €2.1 billion in 2027.
FOREIGN AID AGENCY DEBT
Debt of the Agence française du développement
€55.2 billion in 2022 (an increase of €10 billion in debt over three years)
Sources : Loi de financement de la Sécurité sociale (LFSS) 2025, Caisse d’amortissement de la dette sociale (CADES), Comité d’alerte sur l’évolution des dépenses d’assurance maladie, Conseil d’orientation des retraites (COR), DREES, Commission des comptes de la Sécurité sociale (rapport octobre 2024), CNAM, Haut Conseil des finances publiques, FMI, FIPECO, Ministère de la fonction publique, Cour des Comptes (Situation financière et perspectives du système de retraites, février 2025), Unédic, prévisions financières 2025.