In contrast, Figure 5.2, which complements Figure 5.1, shows the evolution of General Government debt by financial instrument composition over the same period.

The official measure of Gross General Government Debt (GG Debt or “Maastricht Debt”) used for EDP purposes is reported at face value resulting in a ratio of 72.8% of GDP for end-2016², an improvement over its end-2015 value of 76.9% of GDP. In the current publication all liabilities are measured at market value and substituting this market valuation for the face value used in the calculation of GG Debt gives rise to the lower value of 72.8% of GDP, over the 80.2% indicated above. The improvement in the debt to GDP ratio during 2016 is due largely to an increase in GDP for the year, coupled with a relatively smaller decrease in GG Debt of €2.1bn.

Gross disposable income (B.6g) continued to grow in 2016, rising in the year by €2.7bn to stand at €37.3bn at end-2016. This represented a rise of 7.9% over the year. Gross saving (B.8g) of general government increased by €1.0bn in 2016 contributing to a reduction in the deficit³ (B.9) which stood at €1.9bn for the year. Government net borrowing has fallen steadily from its 2010 peak of €53.7bn and has declined by €51.8bn during the ensuing period.