Public debt exceeds 1.5 trillion although it reduces its weight over GDP to 113.1%

Public debt reached a total of 1,502,505 million euros at the end of 2022, which represents 113.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
17 February 2023 Friday 03:33
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Public debt exceeds 1.5 trillion although it reduces its weight over GDP to 113.1%

Public debt reached a total of 1,502,505 million euros at the end of 2022, which represents 113.1% of GDP, according to data published this Friday by the Bank of Spain. In general terms, the indebtedness increased last year by 77,413 million, reaching the highest level in the historical series.

The weight of public debt in GDP, however, is less than expected. The percentage figure is 2.1 points below the commitment made in the budget plan that the Government sent to Brussels last October and is the result of higher-than-expected economic growth, 5.5%, and an increase in the historical tax collection. 113.1% is close to the forecast for 2023, which is 112.4%.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs, through the first vice president, Nadia Calviño, considers that "this is the largest reduction in public administration indebtedness recorded in recent history." Thus, from the maximum level reached during the pandemic, the debt-to-GDP ratio has fallen by more than 7 points.

In the last month of the year, the State reduced its debt by 492 million euros. The autonomous communities, for their part, raised their liabilities by 6,601 million in the last year, while local corporations increased it by just under 1,000 million euros (989 million) and Social Security did so by almost 9,000 million, up to 106,178 million (the system's debt exceeded the 100,000 million barrier for the first time in November).

Economy explains that the Government "maintains its commitment to fiscal rigor, while the economy grows, quality employment is created and protects the social majority."

"This significant reduction in the debt to GDP ratio has been compatible with the measures adopted to reduce inflation and compensate families and the economic sectors most affected." Last year more than 30,000 million were spent on the different decrees approved.