On March 21, Eurostat released new data showing that EU governments spent €67.6 billion on recreational and sporting services in 2023, up from €60.9 billion in 2022. This accounted for 0.8% of total government spending, a proportion that has remained stable since 1995, fluctuating between 0.7% and 0.8%. As a share of GDP, EU spending stayed at 0.4%. The highest national shares relative to GDP in 2023 were in Hungary, Finland, and Sweden (0.7%), while Ireland and Bulgaria had the lowest (0.1%). Among EFTA countries, Iceland led with 1.5% of GDP allocated to these services.

 Members are invited to take a look at the national spending on sport in their particular country and evaluate if the spending falls behind EU average. If so, the data may be used to advocate for a higher spending in sport and recreation to meet the needs of the local sports sector.