9. Personnel expenses
| In millions of EUR | 2006 | 2005 |
| Wages and salaries | 1,490 | 1,413 |
| Compulsory social security contributions | 249 | 251 |
| Contributions to defined contribution plans | 10 | 13 |
| Expenses related to the increase in liability defined benefit plans | 100 | 96 |
| Increase in other long-term employee benefits | 10 | 11 |
| Share-based payment plan | 4 | – |
| Other personnel expenses | 378 | 396 |
| 2,241 | 2,180 | |
The average number of employees during the year was:
| 2006 | 2005 | |||
| The Netherlands | 4,315 | 4,541 | ||
| Other Western Europe | 12,080 | 12,831 | ||
| Central and Eastern Europe | 20,220 | 18,211 | ||
| The Americas | 1,785 | 1,827 | ||
| Africa and Middle East | 11,504 | 11,897 | ||
| Asia Pacific | 1,035 | 1,050 | ||
| Heineken N.V. and subsidiaries | 50,939 | 50,357 | ||
| Central and Eastern Europe | 5,061 | 4,824 | ||
| The Americas | 4,323 | 4,069 | ||
| Africa and Middle East | 659 | 630 | ||
| Asia Pacific | 4,666 | 4,425 | ||
| Joint ventures 3 | 14,709 | 13,948 | ||
| Average number of joint venture employees pro rata | 6,618 | 6,241 | ||
| 57,557 | 56,598 |
3 Employees of joint ventures are stated at 100%.
