According to the final[1] data of government finance statistics for the fourth quarter of 2022, the total consolidated debt of all general government sub-sectors reached EUR 46.1bn at the end of December 2022, up by EUR 0.4bn (or 0.9%) from the end of September 2022 and up by EUR 0.5bn (or 1.0%) from the end of December 2021. The annual increase in debt was due to a combination of a decrease in the external debt of EUR 0.6bn (or 3.8%) and an increase in the domestic debt of EUR 1.0bn (or 3.5%). Domestic debt fell by EUR 0.1bn (or 0.3%), and external debt rose by EUR 0.5bn (or 3.4%) compared to the end of the previous quarter.
Measured against the annual GDP[2], the share of debt in GDP continued to fall at a decreasing rate for the seventh quarter in a row and at end of 2022 recorded the lowest value since the end of 2012 when it stood at 69.2%. The total debt at the end of December 2022 amounted to 68.4% of GDP, which is a decrease of 10.0 percentage points on an annual basis from 78.4% of GDP at the end of December 2021 and a decrease of 2.0 percentage points from the end of the previous quarter, when this share stood at 70.4%. The annual fall in the debt-to-GDP ratio of 10 percentage points was the result of a very strong nominal GDP growth and a marginal increase in debt.
The general government debt structure by main debt instruments and maturity is available only on an unconsolidated basis. Long-term debt instruments dominate the maturity structure of unconsolidated debt: at the end of December 2022 most of this debt was made up of bonds (64.8%), the second by importance were long-term loans (30.5%), and last were short-term loans, securities and deposits (jointly 4.6%). The short-term debt components decrease by EUR 0.7bn (or 24.2%) on an annual basis from the end of December 2021 to the end of December 2022, while the long-term debt components increase by EUR 1.0bn (or 2.4%) during the same period.
Statistical time series: Table I3 General government debt (ESA 2010)