This release has been compiled during the COVID-19 crisis. The results contained in this release reflect some of the economic impacts of the COVID-19 situation. For further information see Background Notes.
| Table 1.1 General Government Finances | |||||||
| End of year | General Government | GDP | |||||
| Balance | Gross Debt | Net Debt | |||||
| €bn | % GDP | €bn | % GDP | €bn | % GDP | €bn | |
| 2016 | -2.1 | -0.8 | 200.6 | 74.3 | 176.6 | 65.4 | 270.1 |
| 2017 | -0.9 | -0.3 | 201.3 | 67.8 | 175.2 | 59.0 | 296.9 |
| 2018 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 205.9 | 63.1 | 177.2 | 54.3 | 326.0 |
| 2019 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 204.0 | 57.2 | 174.6 | 49.0 | 356.5 |
| 2020 | -19.1 | -5.1 | 217.9 | 58.4 | 185.8 | 49.8 | 372.9 |
| 2021 | -8.1 | -1.9 | 235.9 | 56.0 | 192.6 | 45.7 | 421.5 |
| X-axis label | GG gross debt (LHS) | GG net debt (LHS) | GG balance (RHS) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 74.3 | 65.4 | -0.8 |
| 2017 | 67.8 | 59 | -0.3 |
| 2018 | 63.1 | 54.3 | 0.1 |
| 2019 | 57.2 | 49 | 0.5 |
| 2020 | 58.4 | 49.8 | -5.1 |
| 2021 | 56 | 45.7 | -1.9 |
| A seminar on Government Finance Statistics will take place on 27 April. For more information and registration see Seminar on Government Finance Statistics |
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General government deficit of €8.1 billion (1.9% of GDP) in 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic continued to have a detrimental impact on general government finances in 2021, with a general government deficit of €8.1bn for the year. This was down by more than half (57.6%) on the 2020 deficit of €19.1bn (Table 1.1). The main driver behind this reduction was the strong performance of revenue in 2021 with an annual increase of €14.3bn (17.3%), due primarily to growth in both direct (22.6%) and indirect taxes (22.2%). This increase in revenue exceeded a lower €3.3bn (3.2%) rise in expenditure, resulting in an overall improvement in the year-on-year deficit.
Expenditure on COVID-19 measures for 2021 amounted to €12.4 billion, which was €2.3 billion less than in 2020 (Table A). This reduction is mainly due to a drop in expenditure on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment scheme, which reduced by €1.1 billion to €4.0 billion in 2021 as public health restrictions eased over the year.
General government debt at €235.9 billion at end of 2021
The general government gross debt to GDP ratio was at 56.0% at the end of 2021, down from 58.4% at the end 2020. This reduction was driven entirely by the increase in GDP as the nominal debt saw an increase of €18.0 billion in the year. Over that same time frame the general government net debt to GDP ratio moved from 49.8% to 45.7% (Table 1.1).
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