The modern state sets framework conditions for its citizens to live together in law and order and performs a number of services enabling them to live in safety and security.
In Germany, the functions of the state are performed by the authorities at federal, regional (Länder) and municipal level as well as by the social security institutions. Data on finances and personnel are recorded in the largely separate budgets of these administrative levels (=core budgets) and in the extra budgets maintained by independent public funds, institutions and business enterprises with their own accounting system. The purpose of the statistics of public finance and public service personnel is to collate the data in order to form a consistent and transparent overall picture that enables the different levels to be compared over time.
