Public debt is higher than ever. However, one level is recording a falling debt level.
Public debt rose to a record high of EUR 2,445.1 billion at the end of last year. This corresponds to a per capita debt of EUR 28,943, according to the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden. This is EUR 778 more than at the end of 2022. The overall public budget consists of the federal government, states, municipalities and municipal associations as well as social insurance, including all extra budgets.
Public debt rose by 3.3 percent, or 77.1 billion euros, at the end of 2023 compared to the previous year, reaching the highest national debt level ever recorded at the end of a year in debt statistics.
Public transport debts are now included
“The increase was due to increases in federal and municipal debt as well as in social security, while the states were able to reduce debt,” the statisticians explained.
The Federal Office pointed to a special effect. Since last year, against the backdrop of the introduction of the Deutschlandticket, the debts of local public transport companies have been included in the calculation of the public debt. Without local public transport, the debt level would have grown by 2.8 percent and thus been 9.8 billion euros lower.
According to the information, the federal government’s debts amounted to 1,696.3 billion euros at the end of 2023, which is 4.7 percent more than in the previous year. The increase is due in particular to the increase in debt in the extra budgets “Energy Economic Stabilization Fund” and “Special Fund for the German Armed Forces” totaling 47.3 billion euros, it said.
Countries are reducing debt
In contrast, the states’ debts fell by 12.7 billion euros, or 2.1 percent, to 594.2 billion euros. Without the debts of the newly added public transport companies, the decline would have been 2.6 percent, according to the data.
Once again, the city states had the highest debts. Per capita debt in Bremen was 34,012 euros, in Hamburg 17,095 euros and in Berlin 16,602 euros. Among the federal states, Saarland continued to have the highest debt at 13,187 euros per capita, followed by Schleswig-Holstein with 10,737 euros. The lowest figures were in Bavaria with 1,297 euros and in Saxony with 1,405 euros.
Highest per capita debt among municipalities in NRW
And what about the municipalities? According to the statistics, the debt of municipalities and municipal associations grew by 9.8 percent year-on-year to 154.6 billion euros. This results in per capita debt of 1,979 euros. Without the debt of the public transport companies, the increase would have been 5.2 percent.
With a per capita debt of 3,132 euros, the municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia are now ahead of the municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate (3,039). The municipalities in Brandenburg recorded the lowest municipal per capita debt in 2023 at 551 euros, followed by the municipalities in Saxony with 752 euros and in Thuringia with 895 euros.
Source: Stern
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