General government debt statistics for March 2024

According to the government finance statistics data for the first quarter of 2024, the total consolidated debt of the general government sector^[1] reached EUR 49.5bn at the end of March 2024, up by EUR 1.3bn (or 2.6%) from the end of December 2023 and up by EUR 1.1bn (or 2.3%) from the end of March 2023. Measured against the annual GDP^[2], the total debt at the end of March 2024 amounted to 63.3% of GDP, which is a decrease of 5.3 percentage points on an annual basis from 68.6% of GDP at the end of March 2023. The debt-to-GDP ratio increased by 0.2 percentage points from the end of the previous quarter.

Figure 1 Consolidated general government debt and debt-to-GDP ratio

The decrease in the debt-to-GDP ratio of 5.3 percentage points on an annual level was negatively affected by the change in nominal debt of +1.4 percentage points, while the increase in nominal GDP contributed to the decrease in the ratio of -6.7 percentage points.

Figure 2 Relative annual change in general government debt

According to the structure of the general government debt by financial instruments^[3], at the end of March 2024, long-term debt securities accounted for the largest share (64.7%), followed by loans and deposits (29.4%), and short-term debt securities (5.9%). Short-term debt securities increased by EUR 1.4bn (or 89%) from March 2023, achieving the largest relative increase in the total debt structure, having risen from 3.2% to 5.9%.

Figure 3 Unconsolidated general government debt by debt instruments

Statistical time series: Table I3 General government debt (ESA 2010)

1. This debt excludes the cross claims of institutions within the same sub-sector and between sub-sectors, the so-called Maastricht debt. ↑

2. Calculated as the sum of the preceding four quarterly GDP figures. ↑

3. The general government debt structure by main debt instruments and maturity is available only on an unconsolidated basis. The unconsolidated debt represents the Maastricht debt increased by cross claims of different units within the general government sector. ↑