General government debt declines in 2016
According to preliminary data, Estonia’s general government surplus was 0.3 percent in 2016, and the gross debt level was 9.5 percent of the gross domestic product.
As Statistics Estonia reported on Friday, total revenues of the general government exceeded its expenditures by €56.7 million, and all sub-sectors ended the year showing positive results.
By the end of 2016, the surplus of revenues of the central government sub-sector was €13.8 million, and that of the consolidated budget of the local government sub-sector €35.8 million.
The budget surplus of Estonia’s social security funds decreased to €7.1 million, continuing to decline for the fifth year in a row.
The consolidated debt of the general government (Maastricht debt) amounted to nearly €2 billion at the end of 2016, having fallen by 3 percent compared to 2015. The local governments as well as the central government contributed to the lower debt level. At the end of 2016, the debt of the central government sub-sector totalled €2.2 billion, of which €822 million were liabilities towards other sub-sectors. The local governments’ debt amounted to €700 million. The social security funds did not contribute to the debt of the general government sector.
The loan liabilities of the central government decreased by 3 percent, and the volume of long-term securities issued by public-legal institutions as well as foundations belonging to the central government decreased by 7 percent. The share of foreign debt in the central government’s loan liabilities was 52 percent.
The overall debt level of the local governments fell by 3 percent compared to 2015. The volume of long-term securities decreased by 2 percent over the year, and liabilities of loans decreased by 3 percent. Liabilities towards the rest of the world accounted for 21 percent of local governments’ debt.
Editor: Dario Cavegn
Source: Statistics Estonia