MADRID, 15 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The debt of all public administrations rose by 8,090 million euros in January compared to the previous month (0.5%), reaching 1,582,772 million euros, a new historical maximum, according to data published this Friday by the Bank from Spain.
With this increase, public debt is rising again after having registered a slight drop in December. Furthermore, this increase means that the debt of public administrations starts the year at an all-time high, since the previous record of 1,577 billion euros reached in the month of September has been surpassed.
In the last year, public debt has grown by 6.2%, with 92,665 million euros more, as a result of lower income and higher expenses derived from the pandemic crisis and the war in Ukraine and the rise in prices.
In this monthly preview, the Bank of Spain does not offer data on the weight of debt over GDP – measured as a percentage -, but the latest data released suggests that the ratio moderated at the end of 2023. at 107.7%.
Thus, the public debt in 2023 closed at a better ratio than expected by the Government (108.1%), thanks to the boost in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which ended the year with a growth of 2.5%, according to the advance of data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
The Executive’s estimates suggest that the downward path of public debt will continue in the coming years, since it is expected to fall from 106.3% in 2024 to 105.4% in 2025 and 104.4% in 2026.
The monthly increase in debt in January is mainly due to the increase in State debt, while the autonomous communities, city councils and Social Security have registered slight decreases.
Specifically, in January the State debt stood at 1,422,968 million euros, which represents an increase of 0.6% and 8,908 million euros more in one month, while in the last twelve months it has risen by 7.9%.
For their part, the autonomous communities have increased their debt compared to the month of December to 324,146 million euros, some 1,328 million euros less (0.4%), while in an interannual rate they experienced a rise of 2.7%.
For its part, Social Security debt has remained practically at the same level in January, with 116,172 million euros, one million less compared to December. The year-on-year increase is 9.4%.
The Bank of Spain explains that the increase in Social Security debt in the last year is due to the loans granted by the State to the organization’s General Treasury to finance its budget imbalance.
Finally, city councils recorded a debt of 23,212 million euros in January, 0.3% less than the previous month, while in the last year it has fallen by 1.6%.
