Press release No. 326 of 27 August 2024
WIESBADEN – The financial deficit (net borrowing) of general government amounted to 38.1 billion euros in the 1st half of 2024 according to provisional calculations. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reports that the general government deficit was 1.3 billion euros lower than in the 1st half of 2023. Measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices, the deficit ratio was 1.8% in the first six months of 2024.
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. Only limited conclusions can be drawn for the annual result from the results for the first six months.
Central government records financial deficit of 24.6 billion euros
At 24.6 billion euros, central government accounted for the largest share of general government deficit in the 1st half of 2024, as was the case in the same period a year earlier. However, the financial deficit of central government decreased substantially by 17.9 billion euros. By contrast, the financial deficits of state and local government increased considerably. In the 1st half of 2024, the financial deficit of state government amounted to 7.2 billion euros (1st half of 2023: 4.0 billion euros) and the deficit of local government was 6.4 billion euros (1st half of 2023: 2.5 billion euros). Social security funds recorded a financial surplus of 0.2 billion euros in the 1st half of 2024, which was much smaller than in the first six months of 2023 (9.6 billion euros).
General government revenue rising more sharply than expenditure
The financial deficit (net borrowing) of general government in the 1st half of 2024 is the difference between revenue (973.5 billion euros) and expenditure (1,011.6 billion euros). General government revenue rose by 4.7% in the first half of 2024 from the same period of the previous year. At 4.4%, the increase in expenditure was somewhat lower.
Tax revenue and social contributions increasing
Total tax revenue of general government was up by 3.6% in the 1st half of 2024 compared with the same period a year earlier. A 2.5% increase was recorded for value-added tax, and income tax revenue rose by 4.1%. Social contributions in the 1st half of 2024 were 6.8% higher than in the same period of the previous year since the labour market remained robust, wages increased substantially, the upper contribution thresholds were higher and contribution rates for statutory long term care insurance were raised as of July 2023.
Government revenue from interest was up 19.3% in the first six months of 2024 from the first half of 2023. Higher revenue from truck toll due to the introduction of the carbon dioxide surcharge in December 2023 also contributed to the increase in government revenue.
End of energy price relief scheme dampening increase in expenditure
The termination of the relief scheme to counteract high energy prices (brakes on energy prices) at the end of 2023 contributed considerably to the decline of subsidies by 39.8% in the 1st half of 2024 from the same period a year earlier. By contrast, general government social benefits other than social transfers in kind were 6.7% higher in the 1st half of 2024 than in the 1st half of 2023.
Interest payments of general government were up 31.9% in the first six months of 2024 compared with the same period of the previous year. Gross capital formation of general government also increased substantially (+9.8%).
Methodological notes on the 2024 major revision:
In the context of the 2024 major revision of national accounts, the calculation of general government revenue and expenditure was thoroughly reviewed and in part revised. To avoid breaks in the time series, the results for Germany were revised back to 1991 so that modified results may appear in the whole time series from 1991 onwards.
Surcharges to promote renewable energies are no longer shown under electricity prices but as central government subsidies for the production of renewable energies. On the revenue side of central government, the surcharges are recorded as taxes on products, on the revenue side the payments to electricity producers are shown as other subsidies. Operators of public short-distance passenger transport services and the infrastructure companies of German rail operator Deutsche Bahn were retrospectively reclassed to the general government sector on account of new methodological requirements of the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat).
Further 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.
