Debt statistics published today by the NSO confirm that Government is managing to decrease the debt burden on the Maltese economy, the government said in a press release.

Figures show that national debt as a percentage of GDP fell from 69.2 per cent in 2013 to 68.0 per cent in 2014, meaning that the Government managed to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio by 1.2 percentage points in just one year.

Figures of the structure of General Government Debt also show that the composition of the debt remains prevalently local with most of the debt having a medium to long term maturity. This is a positive indication on the sustainability of debt repayment.

These positive developments complement the encouraging results recorded earlier this year in the deficit-to-GDP ratio which was further reduced to 2.1 per cent in 2014 without having to restore to any austerity measures or being detrimental to economic growth.

Minister for Finance Prof. Scicluna observed that “the successful accomplishment of both the deficit and the debt targets led the European Commission to recommend Malta to be removed from the excessive deficit procedure.”