Published: 29 June 2017
General government debt grew slightly in the first quarter of 2017
General government EDP debt, or consolidated gross debt at nominal prices, totalled EUR 136.6 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2017. Growth from the previous quarter amounted to EUR 0.5 billion. These data derive from Statistics Finland's statistics on general government debt by quarter.
General government debt by quarter
Central government debt grew by EUR 0.7 billion in the first quarter. The growth was mainly caused by net issuances of EUR 4.4 billion in central government bonds. At the end of March, the nominal value of central government bonds in circulation was EUR 102.9 billion. The net amount of short-term debt instruments with a maturity of under one year decreased during the first quarter by EUR 3.3 billion due to amortisations. In addition, both cash deposits and short-term loans included in central government sector debt decreased by a total of EUR 0.4 billion. The combined debt of social security funds and the local government sector remained nearly at the same level as at the end of 2016.
General government EDP debt describes general government’s debt to other sectors of the national economy and to the rest of the world, and its development is influenced by changes in unconsolidated debt and internal general government debts. Consolidated general government gross debt is derived by deducting debts between units recorded under general government from unconsolidated gross debt. For this reason, general government debt is smaller than the combined debts of its sub-sectors.
The EDP debt of general government differs conceptionally to some extent in the case of central government, from the central government debt published by the State Treasury. Central government's EDP debt includes loans granted to beneficiary counties by the European Financial Stability Facility EFSF mentioned above, received cash collaterals related to derivative contracts, the capital of the Nuclear Waste Management Fund, debts generated from investments in central government's PPP (public-private partnership) projects, coins that are in circulation, and the deposits of the European Commission. In National Accounts, central government is also a broader concept than the budget and financial economy (http://www.stat.fi/meta/luokitukset/_linkki/julkisyhteisot.html). The valuation principle for both debt concepts is the nominal value, where the effect of currency swaps is taken into account.
The publication of statistics on central government guarantees as a separate set of statistics ended in March 2017. From now on, these data are published in the statistics on general government debt by quarter and the data can be found on the homepage of the statistics under Tables. The first data published in the new place will concern the first quarter of 2017. Central government guarantee data include guarantees for which central government is liable or that are granted on its behalf. This differs from other statistics in that the data only include guarantees for which the central government is liable. Among other central government, the local government sector also grants guarantees in Finland but they are not included in these statistics.
Source: General government debt by quarter, Statistics Finland
Inquiries: Timo Ristimäki 029 551 2324, Henna Laasonen 029 551 3303, rahoitus.tilinpito@stat.fi
Director in charge: Ville Vertanen
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Appendix tables
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- Revisions in these statistics (29.6.2017)
Updated 29.6.2017
Official Statistics of Finland (OSF):
General government debt by quarter [e-publication].
ISSN=1799-8034. 1st quarter 2017. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 22.11.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/jyev/2017/01/jyev_2017_01_2017-06-29_tie_001_en.html