Shares in %
2022 expenditure by task area
Social welfare: 26 576 mn
Finances and taxes: 11 341 mn
Transportation: 10 693 mn
Education and research: 7 907 mn
Security: 6 406 mn
Agriculture and food: 3 659 mn
International relations: 3 825 mn
Other tasks areas: 10 743 mn
The largest federal task area is social welfare, which accounted for about a third of expenditure (32.7 %). This expenditure is bound by law and therefore barely controllable in the medium term. Almost half of the expenditure goes to old-age and survivors' insurance (AHV). Other areas include federal contributions to disability insurance (IV), individual premium reductions and AHV and IV supplementary benefits, as well as migration expenditure. Expenditure growth depends largely on the volume of disability insurance and old-age and survivors' insurance pensions, and thus on demographic developments.
Finances and taxes accounted for 14.0 % of total expenditure. Expenditure growth in this area can be influenced only in the long term. The shares of federal receipts, for example, are set out in the Constitution and depend directly on the amount of receipts. Interest expenditure is determined by debt and the development of interest rates.
Transportation accounted for 13.2 % of total expenditure. It includes expenditure on rail and public transportation (67 %), road transportation (31 %) and aviation (2 %). Transportation expenditure is financed primarily by earmarked tax receipts and is thus largely restricted. Most of this is channeled into the railway infrastructure fund (RIF) and the motorway and urban transportation fund, through which the operation, maintenance and extension of the transportation infrastructure are steered.
The education and research task area accounted for 9.7 % of expenditure, and around 80 % of it is steered by the payment frameworks and guarantee credits requested with the 2021-2024 ERI dispatch. Switzerland is not currently associated with EU research programs, which is why comprehensive transitional measures are planned. Association to the Horizon package as soon as possible remains the goal.
Security accounted for 7.9 % of expenditure. More than 80 % of security expenditure is attributable to military national defense, which was determined by the 2021-2024 Armed Forces payment framework, requested in the 2020 Armed Forces dispatch. The task area includes the tasks "military national defense", "civil protection and civilian service", "police, prison system and intelligence" and "border controls".
About 4.5 % of expenditure is budgeted for agriculture and food. Direct payments account for roughly three quarters of this (2.8 bn). During the 2021 spring session, Parliament decided to suspend deliberations on the legislative amendments submitted as part of AP22+. The agriculture financial resources of 13.957 billion for 2022 to 2025 were nevertheless approved on June 3, 2021. Based on the Federal Council report of June 22, 2022 on the future direction of agricultural policy, the Federal Council has requested that Parliament resume deliberations on AP22+.
The international relations task area accounted for 4.7% of total expenditure. Just under 80% of its expenditure goes to development cooperation. Most of the remainder is attributable to political relations, i.e. Swiss diplomatic and consular representations and expenditure for international organizations.
The five remaining task areas (institutional and financial conditions, culture and leisure, health, protection of the environment and spatial planning, economic relations) accounted for 13.2% of expenditure.
Development of selected 2022 expenditure items by task area
in CHF mn and %
Expenditure by task area
Social welfare
International relations
Transportation
Education and research
Agriculture and food
Security
Finances and taxes
Expenditure plunged by 7.1 billion (-8.1 %) to 81.2 billion in 2022, largely because of significantly lower expenditure to combat the COVID-19 pandemic (2021: 14.1 bn; 2022: 3.7 bn). However, the war in Ukraine resulted in additional expenditure of 1.2 billion. Much of this was needed for those from Ukraine seeking protection (global lump sums and federal integration contributions to the cantons for protection seekers).
Excluding coronavirus-related expenditure and expenditure in connection with the Ukraine crisis, expenditure growth amounted to 2.7 %. Expenditure increased in particular in the areas of social welfare (migration, AHV, IV), security (defense expenditure), education and research (Horizon transitional measures) and in other task areas (including redistribution of CO2 tax, security of energy supply).
Social welfare expenditure decreased by 3.6 billion (-12.1 %) year on year, due primarily to significantly lower COVID-19 expenditure for short-time working compensation (-3.6 bn; unemployment insurance) and COVID-19 loss of earnings compensation (-1.5 bn; family policy, equality). Excluding COVID-19 expenditure, social welfare expenditure rose by 6.5 %, especially in the areas of migration, old-age and survivors' insurance and disability insurance. Migration expenditure surged by more than 1.0 billion (+66.9 %), largely because of the admission of people from Ukraine seeking protection (status 'S'), but also due to the rise in asylum applications. Expenditure on old-age and survivors' insurance was up by 309 million (+2.4 %). First, the federal contribution to AHV rose because of the growth in the number of pensioners, and second, higher VAT receipts led to a rise in the percentage of value added tax for AHV (+146 mn). The positive development of value added tax additionally led to higher federal payments to disability insurance (+146 mn).
Expenditure on international relations remained at the previous year's level (+0.2 %, or +9 mn). The rise in the area of political relations (+22 mn) was attributable mainly to higher prices abroad and the greater number and resumption of international events and meetings. Development assistance, which accounted for almost 80 % of the task area, remained more or less unchanged (-0.4 %). Although more humanitarian and food aid was provided to Ukraine, expenditure for combating the COVID-19 pandemic abroad was reduced.
Transportation expenditure fell by 1.0 % year on year (-108 mn), largely because the expenditure to combat the COVID-19 pandemic was halved from 589 million to 285 million (including the absence of the 250 mn Skyguide recapitalization). Excluding the COVID-19 measures, transportation expenditure increased by 195 million (+1.9 %). Expenditure on rail and public transportation grew by 270 million, driven mainly by the bigger deposit in the railway infrastructure fund (+213 mn); high inflation meant that the general federal budget and VAT contributions were higher, as was the cantonal contribution. By contrast, road transportation expenditure decreased by 116 million, mainly because the deposit in the motorway and urban transportation fund was lower (-105 mn) due to the drop in mineral oil tax. Aviation expenditure was likewise down (-12 mn excluding COVID-19 expenditure).
Education and research expenditure rose by 5.0 % relative to 2021 (+379 mn). Most of this growth was in the research sector (+341 mn). Switzerland's continued non-association to the EU's Horizon research agreement in 2022 meant that the budgeted contribution to the EU (709 mn) was not used, as was already the case in 2021. Instead, more funds were needed for the transitional measures (+266 mn). Expenditure in the area of tertiary-level institutions was up by 25 million. This was due to higher contributions to the ETH Domain and research promotion institutions, as well as project contributions under the Federal Act on the Funding and Coordination of the Higher Education Sector (HEdA). Spending on vocational education and other education likewise rose (+9 mn and +4 mn, respectively).
Agriculture and food expenditure remained at the previous year's level (-0.0 %, or -1 mn). Direct payments accounted for three quarters of agriculture expenditure, and remained unchanged year on year. Regarding means of production (+3 mn), Parliament decided when setting the payment framework to increase the structural improvement subsidies for ecological measures. In the area of production and sales, dairy industry subsidies led to additional expenditure (+4 mn). Other expenditure, such as the Federal Office for Agriculture's administrative expenses, decreased (-8 mn).
Security expenditure surged by 8.1 % in 2022 (+479 mn). Military national defense expenditure rose by 398 million, largely as a result of higher defense expenditure (+306 mn). The first advance payments for the procurement of the new fighter jets decided by Parliament in the 2022 Armed Forces dispatch were made in 2022. There was a sharp increase also in the police, prison system and intelligence area (+74 mn, or +15.0 %). In the case of the police, higher payments were made in particular for extraordinary protection tasks (e.g. Ukraine Recovery Conference). Moreover, additional expenditure was incurred for intelligence, and higher construction contributions were paid to prisons and juvenile correctional institutions. Border control expenditure was also higher (+12 mn).
Finances and taxes expenditure declined by 2.4 % (-0.3 bn) because of the cantons' shares of federal receipts, which fell by 527 million (-7.2 %). The lower cantonal share of withholding tax (-560 mn) and the absence of the special factor in the form of the refund of VAT on radio and television reception fees (-182 mn) were offset by a higher cantonal share of direct federal tax (+210 mn). Expenditure in the area of funding and asset and debt management (+122 mn) rose as a result of higher interest rates and the fiscal equalization expenditure incurred due to the temporary mitigation measures in connection with the 2020 fiscal equalization reform (+126 mn).
Development of 2022 expenditure
in CHF bn and % of GDP
The decrease in coronavirus-related expenditure (2021: 14.1 bn; 2022: 3.7 bn) caused total expenditure to plunge by 8.1 % (-7.1 bn) in 2022. As nominal GDP grew vigorously at the same time (+5.4 %), the expenditure ratio dropped significantly from 12.1 % to 10.5 %. The expenditure ratio is an indicator of the extent of federal activities relative to the overall economy. Excluding extraordinary expenditure (COVID-19 measures: 3.3 bn; people from Ukraine seeking protection: 0.7 bn), expenditure was up by 1.2 billion.
Data
Detailed data for longer periods are available under the following links:
- Link data portal
- Link Open Government Data
Downloads
Last modification 01.05.2023