Household - By the end of 2023, public debts will be almost 2.5 trillion Euros.
Public debts reached a record high of 2.445.1 billion Euro at the end of last year, representing a per capita debt of 28,943 Euro, according to the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden. This is 778 Euro more than at the end of 2022. The public budget consists of the Federal Government, states, municipalities and local associations, as well as social insurance including all special funds.
The public debt increased by 3.3 percent or 77.1 billion Euro to the highest national debt level ever recorded in the debt statistics.
Debt of public transport companies is now included
"The increase came about due to debt growth in the Federal Government and in municipalities, as well as in social insurance," explained the statisticians.
The Federal Office referred to a special effect. Since the previous year, the debts of public transport companies in the Public Personnel Transport (OPNV) have been included in the calculation of the public debt. Without OPNV, the debt would have grown by 2.8 percent and would have been 9.8 billion Euro lower.
According to the data, the Federal Government was indebted to the tune of 1.696.3 billion Euro at the end of 2023, an increase of 4.7 percent compared to the previous year. The increase was mainly due to debt growth in the special funds "Economic Stabilization Fund Energy" and "Special Funds Bundeswehr" with a total of 47.3 billion Euro.
The debts of the states decreased by 12.7 billion Euro or 2.1 percent to 594.2 billion Euro. Without the debts of the newly added OPNV companies, the decline would have been 2.6 percent.
Highest per capita debt at city-states
The per capita debt in Bremen was 34,012 Euro, in Hamburg 17,095 Euro, and in Berlin 16,602 Euro among the city-states. Among the federal states, Saarland had the highest per capita debt with 13,187 Euro.
Highest per capita debt among communes in NRW
And how did it look among the communes? The debt of municipalities and local associations grew by 9.8 percent to 154.6 billion Euro according to the statistics. This results in a per capita debt of 1,979 Euro. Without the debts of the OPNV companies, the increase would have been 5.2 percent.
Communes in North Rhine-Westphalia now have the highest per capita debt with 3,132 Euro, followed by communes in Rhineland-Palatinate with 3,039 Euro. The communes in Brandenburg had the lowest per capita debt with 551 Euro, followed by those in Saxony with 752 Euro and in Thuringia with 895 Euro.
- The increase in public debt can be attributed mainly to debt growth in the Federal Government and in municipalities, as well as in social insurance, as stated by the statisticians from the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden.
- The debt statistics from the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden showed that the debts of public transport companies have been included in the calculation of the public debt, leading to an increase in the overall debt level.
- The Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden reported that the per capita debt among the city-states in Germany is the highest, with Bremen having the highest debt per capita at 34,012 Euro, followed by Hamburg and Berlin.
- According to the statistics from the Federal Statistical Office in Wiesbaden, the debts of the municipalities and local associations in Germany have seen a significant increase, with North Rhine-Westphalia having the highest per capita debt among the communes at 3,132 Euro.
