1. Public expenditure on culture Agenda point 11b
European Commission - DG Eurostat
MEETING OF THE WORKING GROUP ON CULTURE STATISTICS
23-24 November 2016

2. Content Available data at Eurostat
data, indicators
geographical coverage, …
COFOG and the coverage of the cultural domain
Data preview

3. 1. Government expenditure data at Eurostat
Source: Eurostat, Unit D4
Coverage: EU MS + IS, NO, CH
Units: mio of EUR, EUR/inhabitant, % GDP, % total expenditure
Breakdown variables:
government level (central, local, etc.)
type of expenditure: ESA 2010 (e.g. compensation of employees, subsidies, etc.)
government function: COFOG – UN Classification of Functions of Government

4. 2. COFOG and culture coverage
Hierarchical structure:
Divisions (2 digits)
Groups (3 digits)
Classes (4 digits)
Type
Division 08 Recreation, culture and religion
Recreational and sporting services
Cultural services
Broadcasting and publishing services
Religious and other community services
R&D Recreation, culture and religion
Recreation, culture and religion n.e.c.

5. What would be covered (fully cultural)
08.2 Cultural services:
provision of cultural services;
administration of cultural affairs;
supervision, regulation, operation and support of cultural facilities (libraries, museums, art galleries, theatres, exhibition halls, monuments, historic houses and sites, zoological and botanical gardens, aquaria, arboreta, etc.);
production, operation or support of cultural events (concerts, stage and film productions, art shows, etc.) ;
grants, loans or subsidies to support individual artists.
Broadcasting and publishing services
administration, supervision and regulation, operation or support of broadcasting and publishing services
grants, loans or subsidies for the construction or acquisition of facilities for television or radio broadcasting; plant, equipment or materials for newspaper, magazine or book publishing, etc.
NB. cultural services (08.2) do not include
cultural events intended for presentation beyond national boundaries (01.1.3)
- national, regional or local celebrations intended chiefly to attract tourists, even though publicly subsidised. (04.7.3)

6. What is mixed with sport and religion:
Research and development
administration and operation of government agencies engaged in applied research and experimental development;
grants, loans and subsidies to support applied research and experimental development.
Other activities
activities such as formulation, administration, coordination and monitoring of overall policies, plans, programmes and budgets for the promotion of culture;
preparation and enforcement of legislation and standards for the provision of cultural services;
production and dissemination of general information, technical documentation and statistics on culture.

7. 3. Data preview
Coverage: detailed data for COFOG groups are available for most countries (only CH missing)
Preview (EU figures, 2014):
Public expenditure on recreation, culture and religion, as a percentage of total public expenditure, EU-28, 2014

8. 3. Data preview
Public expenditure on cultural services (GF08.2) and broadcasting and publishing activities (GF08.3), in % of total public expenditure, 2014

9. WG members are asked to:
take note of the Eurostat available data and challenges met;
exchange national experiences with statistics on public expenditure on culture (notably on the feasibility of isolating expenses on preservation of cultural heritage in public expenditure data).