The European Union has allocated a total of €40.6 billion for fire protection services in 2023, according to data published by Eurostat.
This amount represents an increase of 8.5% compared to 2022 (€37.4 billion), while the share of these expenses has remained stable at 0.5% of the total public spending of the EU since 2017.
Eurostat reports significant variances among member states; Romania topped the list with 0.9% of its national budget allocated to fire-related services, followed by both Estonia and Greece (0.7% each). Conversely, the lowest percentages were recorded in Denmark (0.1%), Malta (0.2%), and then Portugal and Austria (0.3%).
In terms of human resources, the number of professional firefighters in the EU in 2024 reached approximately 390,600, accounting for 0.19% of total employment, an increase of 28,200 from the previous year. Croatia (0.45%), Greece (0.41%), and Czechia (0.34%) led in firefighter employment rates, while the lowest levels were seen in the Netherlands (0.07%), Denmark (0.08%), and Sweden (0.10%).
The report also noted that 75.2% of European firefighters are aged between 15 and 49, compared to 64.8% in other professions, indicating that this group is younger than the overall workforce average in the continent.
