In 2016, the general government registered a surplus of €101.0 million, equivalent to 1.0 per cent of GDP. The gross consolidated debt amounted to €5,766.5 million or 58.3 per cent of GDP, the NSO said.

Net lending (or surplus) of general government for 2016 amounted to around €101.0 million, shifting from a deficit of €119.3 million recorded in the previous year. This is calculated as the diff erence between total revenue (€3,871.3 million) and expenditure (€3,770.2 million) of general government.

 

When measured as a percentage of GDP, the general government balance was equivalent to a surplus of 1.0 per cent, showing a significant improvement from a deficit of 1.3 per cent in 2015.

On the back of stock flow adjustments, the general government nominal gross consolidated debt increased by €144.4 million to €5,766.5 over 2016, however due to higher level in GDP, the debt-to-GDP ratio fell below the Maastricht debt criteria to 58.3 per cent.

2016 data

In order to arrive at the General Government Sector’s surplus for 2016, adjustments are made to the balance of the Government’s consolidated fund, which registered a surplus of €8.9 million. The major positive adjustment is the net lending (or surplus) recorded by Extra Budgetary Units of €179.2 million, particularly by the setting up of the National Development and Social Fund, which receives 70 per cent of the contributions under the Individual Investor Programme, registering a surplus of €163.5 million. In addition, another positive adjustment includes the time-adjusted cash transactions (€4.8 million). On the other hand, the main negative adjustments to the consolidated fund included the ‘other accounts receivable and payable’ (€33.5 million), the treasury clearance fund (€24.4 million) and the equity injection to the national air carrier (€12.0 million).