More than half of expenditure for social protection was age-related, with pensions representing the bulk of it. Total expenditure for social protection last year amounted to EUR 6.7bn, which is 0.4% less than in 2013.

Expenditure related to unemployment decreased the most, by 12.8% to EUR 281m. Expenditure for other forms of social exclusion meanwhile increased by 10.4% to EUR 314m.

A total of EUR 2.8bn went for public administration, which includes expenditure for executive and legislative bodies, finances and taxes, foreign affairs, basic research, general affairs and servicing of general government debt.

Expenditure for servicing of general government debt and for interest amounted to EUR 1.2bn, which compares to EUR 998m in 2013.

A total of EUR 257m went for repayment of foreign currency deposit holders in the defunct LB bank in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, which represented a 0.7% share of GDP.

A 6.6% share of GDP was earmarked for health care, which is 0.3 percentage points fewer than in the year before. Nominal values of this expenditure were stable in recent years.

A 5.9% share of GDP went for education or 0.6 percentage points fewer than in 2013. Nominal value of this expenditure was down 6% compared to the previous year.

Expenditure for economic activity represented a 5.7% share of GDP or 0.1 percentage points fewer than in 2013. The biggest amount, EUR 352m, went for recapitalisation of banks.

Expenditure for public order and security represented a 1.6% share, expenditure for recreation, culture and religion a 1.7% share, expenditure for environmental protection a 1% share, and expenditure for housing and spatial development and defence expenditure a 0.9% share of GDP each.