General government debt declined again

At the end of 2016, the total revenues of the general government exceeded the expenditures by 56.7 million euros, accounted as the Maastricht deficit criteria, and all sub-sectors ended the year positively. By the end of 2016, the surplus of revenues of the central government sub-sector was 13.8 million euros and the consolidated budget of the local government sector was 35.8 million euros in surplus. The budget surplus of social security funds decreased to 7.1 million euros, continuing the declining trend for the fifth year in a row.

The consolidated debt of the general government (Maastricht debt) amounted to nearly 2 billion euros by the end of 2016, having fallen 3% compared to 2015. The local governments as well as the central government contributed to the fall of the debt level. At the end of 2016, the debt of the central government sub-sector totalled 2.2 billion euros of which 822 million euros were liabilities towards other sub-sectors. The local governments’ debt accounted for 0.7 billion euros. Social security funds did not contribute to the debt of the general government sector.

The loan liabilities of the central government decreased by 3% and the volume of long-term securities issued by the public-legal institutions and foundations belonging to the central government decreased by 7%. The share of foreign debt in the central government’s loan liabilities was 52%.

The overall debt level of the local governments fell by 3% compared to 2015. The volume of long-term securities decreased by 2% over the year and the liabilities of loans decreased by 3%. Liabilities towards the rest of the world accounted for 21% of the local governments' debt.

In Estonia, the general government sector comprises three sub-sectors: 1) central government (state budget units and extra-budgetary funds, foundations, legal persons in public law); 2) local governments (city and rural municipality governments with their subsidiary units, foundations); 3) social security funds (Estonian Health Insurance Fund, Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund).