The social protection budget is at an all-time high and is keeping pace with the overall increase in government budget. Kosovo’s 2024 social protection budget of EUR 854.6 million is the highest ever, 3 percent more than last year’s inflation-adjusted budget, the previous largest budget. As a share of total government spending and as a share of GDP, the 2024 social protection budget of 26 percent and 8 percent, respectively, is nearly the highest in sector history. Nevertheless, Kosovo spends considerably less than its regional peers on social protection. Average social protection spending in Europe and Central Asia countries in 2021 was approximately 17 percent of GDP (most recent regional data), while Kosovo most recently spent 7 percent of GDP in 2023 and is budgeted to spend 8 percent in 2024. Tracking public spending on children in Kosovo is feasible but needs refinement. Although Kosovo’s budget and expenditure reporting system uses functional classifications that allow for the identification of spending items that benefit children, it lacks a formal “child tag” to clearly differentiate between direct and indirect child spending.