Fast 2.5 trillion Euro - Germany's government debt reaches new record
Public debt reached a new 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 an increase of 78 Euro per capita compared to the end of 2022. The public budget consists of the federal government, states, municipalities and municipal associations, as well as social insurance including all special funds.
The public debt increased by 3.3% or 77.1 billion Euro compared to the previous year and reached the highest national debt level ever recorded in the debt statistics.
Debt of public transportation companies now included
The increase was due to debt growth in the federal government, municipalities, and social insurance, while the states were able to reduce their debts.
The Federal Office noted a special effect. Since the previous year, the debts of public transportation companies in the Public Transport System (OPNV) have been included in the calculation of the public debt. Without OPNV, the debt would have grown by 2.8%, or 9.8 billion Euro less.
According to the data, the federal government was in debt for 1.696.3 billion Euro at the end of 2023, an increase of 4.7% 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," totaling 47.3 billion Euro.
Highest debt levels in the city-states
The debts of the states decreased by 12.7 billion Euro or 2.1% to 594.2 billion Euro. Without the debts of the newly added OPNV companies, the decrease would have been 2.6%.
Once again, the city-states had the highest debt levels. The per capita debt in Bremen was 34,012 Euro, in Hamburg 17,095 Euro, and in Berlin 16,602 Euro. Among the federal states, Saarland had the highest per capita debt with 13,187 Euro, followed by Schleswig-Holstein with 10,737 Euro. The lowest figures were in Bavaria with 1,297 Euro and in Saxony with 1,405 Euro.
And how did it look for the municipalities? The debt of the municipalities and municipal associations grew by 9.8% 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%.
With a per capita debt of 3,132 Euro, the municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia now have a higher debt than the municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate (3,039 Euro). The municipalities with the lowest per capita debt in 2023 were those in Brandenburg with 551 Euro, followed by those in Saxony with 752 Euro and those in Thuringia with 895 Euro.
The highest debt levels among the city-states were observed in Bremen with 34,012 Euro per capita, followed by Hamburg with 17,095 Euro and Berlin with 16,602 Euro. This significant debt accumulation can be attributed to Germany's 'Debt Mountain', which reached a staggering 2.445.1 billion Euro at the end of the year, primarily due to increases in the federal government, municipalities, and social insurance sectors.
