Press release No. 070 of 25 February 2025
WIESBADEN – The financial deficit (net borrowing) of general government amounted to 118.8 billion euros in 2024 according to provisional calculations. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that the general government deficit was therefore 15.0 billion euros higher than in 2023. Measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices, the deficit ratio was 2.8% in 2024 (2023: 2.5%).
The results are based on the definitions of the European System of Accounts (ESA) 2010. They provide the basis for monitoring the budget situation in the Member States of the European Union (EU) in accordance with the Stability and Growth Pact (Maastricht criteria) and do not correspond to the financial balance of the overall public budget as defined for finance statistics.
Financial deficit of central government down 30.5 billion euros compared with previous year
The financial deficit of central government, totalling 62.3 billion euros, accounted for just over half of the general government deficit in 2024. However, central government managed to reduce its financial deficit by 30.5 billion euros compared with the previous year. By contrast, state government and local government recorded significant deficit increases: year on year, the deficit of state government increased threefold to 27.3 billion euros (2023: 9.0 billion euros), while the deficit of local government rose by 7.6 billion euros to 18.6 billion euros. Social security funds recorded a financial deficit of 10.6 billion euros in 2024, after achieving a surplus of 9.0 billion euros in 2023. These results mean that all four subsectors of general government reported a financial deficit for the first time since 2009.
Tax revenue and social contributions increasing
Government revenue as defined in national accounts amounted to 2,012.9 billion euros and therefore exceeded the 2 trillion euro mark for the first time in 2024. Compared with a year earlier, government revenue was up 4.8%.
Total tax revenue of general government rose by 3.5% in 2024. A 2.4% increase was recorded for value-added tax, and income tax revenue rose by 3.6%. Social contributions were 6.5% higher than in the previous year. Government revenue from interest was up 13.9% on the previous year. Higher revenue from the truck toll due to the introduction of the carbon dioxide surcharge in December 2023 also contributed to the increase in government revenue.
Expenditure rising faster than revenue despite end of energy price relief scheme
In 2024, government spending as defined in national accounts increased by 5.3% to 2,131.6 billion euros, and thereby outpaced growth in government revenue.
Interest payments in 2024 were 24.2% higher than in the previous year. Social benefits other than social transfers in kind rose by 7.0%. This was primarily a result of higher expenditure for pensions. There was also a marked increase in expenditure for long-term care allowance and citizen's benefit. Social benefits in kind increased by 8.0%. This was due in part to additional expenditure on hospital treatments, medication and nursing care and to higher spending in the area of youth welfare, integration assistance and public assistance. On the other hand, subsidies decreased by 35.6% as relief measures to counteract high energy prices (brake on energy prices) were discontinued at the end of 2023.
Methodological notes:
Deviations between the financial balance (net lending/net borrowing) of general government as defined in national accounts and the financial balance of the overall public budget as defined for finance statistics are due to methodological differences. Detailed information on the deficit calculation (only in German) is offered on the Federal Statistical Office’s website.
More information:
For further results regarding the revenue and expenditure of general government and the monitoring of the budget situation in the European Union (EU), including the deficit and debt ratios of the EU Member States, please refer to the tables on the EU Stability Pact provided on the “National accounts, domestic product” page of the Federal Statistical Office’s website.
