Press release No. 311 of 22 August 2025

WIESBADEN – The financial deficit (net borrowing) of general government amounted to 28.9 billion euros in the 1^st half of 2025. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that general government deficit was therefore 19.4 billion euros lower than in the 1^st half of 2024, according to provisional results. Measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) at current prices, the deficit ratio was 1.3% in the first six months of 2025.

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 for the annual result can be drawn from the results for the first six months.

Central government records financial deficit of 16.7 billion euros

At 16.7 billion euros, central government again accounted for the largest share of general government deficit. However, the financial deficit of central government decreased substantially by 10.5 billion euros in the 1^st half of 2025 compared with the same period a year earlier. The financial deficit of the Länder was also greatly reduced by 10.3 billion euros and amounted to 1.3 billion euros in the 1^st half of 2025 (1^st half of 2024: 11.6 billion euros). Compared with the same period of the previous year, the financial deficit of local government grew by 4.7 billion euros to 14.2 billion euros (1^st half of 2024: 9.5 billion euros). Social security funds recorded a financial surplus of 3.3 billion euros in the 1^st half of 2025 (1^st half of 2024: 0.0 billion euros).

Revenue up 6.5%, expenditure up 4.3% compared with 1^st half of 2024

The financial deficit (net borrowing) of general government in the 1^st half of 2025 amounted to 28.9 billion euros and is the difference between revenue (1,042.0 billion euros) and expenditure (1,070.9 billion euros). Revenue therefore increased by 6.5% in the 1^st half of 2025 compared with the previous year. The increase in expenditure was lower, at 4.3%.

Social contributions rising faster than tax revenues

Tax revenue of general government was up 5.1% in the 1^st half of 2025 compared with the same period a year earlier. A significant increase of 6.9% was recorded for value-added tax, and income tax revenue rose by 4.6%. Social contributions rose substantially by 8.9% due to higher additional contributions to statutory health insurance and the increase in the contribution rates to long-term care insurance and the raising of the contribution assessment ceilings in January 2025, for example. Government revenue from interest was down 18.9% on the same period a year earlier.

Social benefits and compensation of employees driving expenditure increase

A substantial increase was recorded in social benefits other than social transfers in kind, such as pensions and unemployment benefit, which rose by 20.3 billion euros in the 1^st half of 2025 (+5.8% on the same period a year earlier). Social benefits in kind, which include medical and hospital services, medication and  public assistance benefits, increased by 13.5 billion euros (+7.1% on the same period a year earlier). The growth in expenditure was also driven by an increase of 10.9 billion euros, or 6.3%, in general government compensation of employees compared with the same period of the previous year. The increase in expenditure was tempered by a 12.9% reduction in subsidies, primarily as a result of lower compensatory payments for renewable energy.

Compared with the same period a year earlier, interest payments of general government rose by 5.8% in the 1^st half of 2025 to a total of 24.3 billion euros. Gross capital formation increased by 3.7% to 59.6 billion euros.

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 is provided on the "Deficit calculation" page (only in German) on the website of the Federal Statistical Office:

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.