49 billion more in 2023
National debt is growing to over 2.4 trillion euros
September 28, 2023, 11:16 a.m
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Germany’s debts to the non-public sector, such as banks and private companies, continue to rise. Compared to the end of last year, 49 billion euros have been added. One reason is that the Germany ticket is included in the calculation.
The German state’s debt increased in the middle of the year. At the end of June, the federal government, states, municipalities and social security, including all extra budgets, were in the black with 2,417 billion euros. That is 2.1 percent or 49 billion euros more than at the end of 2022, as the Federal Statistical Office announced. Debts to the non-public sector are taken into account, including, for example, banks and private companies at home and abroad.
One reason for the increase is that the liabilities of transport companies in local public transport (ÖPNV) are now included in the calculation. “The background to this is that to finance the Deutschland Ticket, which was introduced on May 1, 2023, the public transport companies receive allocations and subsidies from the federal and state governments,” explained the Federal Office. “As a result, they are no longer financed primarily through their sales revenues and, according to the concept of financial statistics, are classified without exception as extra households, which means that their debts are included in the statistics.” Without this effect, the debt level would be 8.4 billion euros lower.
The federal government’s liabilities rose above average by 3.0 percent or 49.2 billion euros. “The reasons for the increase were higher issuance of securities and increased financing needs as a result of the energy crisis in connection with the Russian attack on Ukraine,” it said. The liabilities of the Energy Economic Stabilization Fund, which was founded in November 2022, almost doubled from 29.6 to 59.8 billion euros. The debts of the Bundeswehr special fund increased by 55.7 percent to 1.2 billion euros, while those of the Corona economic stabilization fund fell by 12.2 percent to 46.0 billion euros.
Countries with a deficit of almost 600 billion
The federal states are in the chalk with 597.7 billion euros, a minus of 1.5 percent compared to the end of 2022. The largest declines were for Bavaria (-18.1 percent), Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (-11.6 percent) and Schleswig-Holstein (-6.0 percent). “The decline in Bavaria is primarily due to a bond that has matured and, given the temporary liquidity available, it did not yet have to be financed in full,” it said. “In the other two countries, the declines also resulted from lower issuance of securities.”
The liabilities of municipalities and municipal associations increased by 6.4 percent to 149.8 billion euros. The municipalities in Baden-Württemberg recorded the highest increase (+12.0 percent), followed by Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (+10.1 percent) and Saxony (+7.5 percent). Social security debt has almost halved – from 21.6 to 10.9 million euros.