The economic growth of Catalonia in the first quarter of the year facilitated the reduction of the debt in relation to GDP to 33.1%, the lowest level since 2014. Even so, by continuing to accumulate deficits month after month, the debt It continued to grow by more than 1,000 million euros, up to 85,456 million.
During the presentation of the 2023 budgets, the Minister of Economy, Natàlia Mas, already foresaw that the debt/GDP ratio would drop despite the fact that the accounts were expansive. This Thursday, after meeting with the president of Airef, Cristina Herrero, in Madrid, Mas warned that "the State cannot impose a unilateral and disproportionate distribution of the deficit targets." In her opinion, the reintroduction of tax rules at a European level "requires good planning and a medium and long-term view."
One more quarter, Valencia was the community with the largest indebtedness in relation to GDP (43.7%). In absolute value, with 55,439 million, it was in second place in the ranking behind Catalonia.
In the communities as a whole, the debt in relation to GDP has also been reduced to 23.7%. It is the lowest since 2019.
The debt of public administrations rose by 32,761 million in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the last three months of last year and set a new historical record by standing at 1,535 trillion. However, economic growth allowed its weight to be lowered compared to GDP, falling from 113.2% to 113% advanced by the Bank of Spain a month ago. Unlike what happens with the communities, in the case of the administrations as a whole, the debt in relation to GDP is still above the level prior to the pandemic. In 2019 it stood at 98.2%.
By administrations, the plant once again accounts for the largest volume, with 1,388 billion. This figure represents an increase of 2.1% compared to the previous quarter. For their part, the Spanish autonomous communities accumulated a debt of 322,211 million, 5,317 million more than in the previous quarter. Likewise, local corporations placed their debt at 23,032 million, with a quarterly increase of just 13 million, 0.05%.
