Public debt rises by 73.6 billion in one year and sets a new record by already exceeding 1.7 billion in the third quarter

The Spanish public debt marked a new record in the third quarter of the year by exceeding 1.7 billion euros. The liabilities of the Public Administrations as a whole increased by 18,408 million compared to the previous quarter and rose by more than 73,599 million when compared to the same period a year ago, which implies an increase of 4.5%. The data updated this Monday by the Bank of Spain show how the growth of the economy helps to partially offset this effect.

This is because in relation to GDP, which is the reference that Brussels takes for the Excessive Deficit Protocol, the ratio falls one point to 103.2% in one year. Again the central administration accumulates the highest level of debt at the end of September. Its liabilities exceed 1.57 trillion euros, also a historical maximum and the equivalent of 94.8% of GDP. This is the administration that has been making the greatest effort in terms of measures to confront the different crises since the pandemic. The State sees the volume of debt increase by 23,000 million compared to the second quarter.

The Government has committed to reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio to 101.7% by the end of this year. More in the long term, the official forecast is that it will fall to 98.4% in 2027, 90.6% in 2031 and 76.8% in 2041. Although the Executive contemplates a downward path in public debt over the next few years, in its projections it has not specified when it will place it below the “prudent” levels of 60% proposed by Brussels.

Regarding the territories, the debt of the autonomous communities was reduced compared to the previous quarter both in volume and in relation to GDP. It reached 338,804 million euros, placing its ratio at 20.4% of GDP. Five communities maintained their ratio below the 13% thresholdreference value established in the Stability Law: Navarra (9.9%), Canary Islands (10.8%), Madrid (11.5%), Basque Country (11.8%) and Asturias (12.6%).

On the contrary, the communities with the highest relative levels of debt were the Valencian Community, which continues to lead with a ratio of 40.5%, followed by the Region of Murcia (30.2%), Castilla-La Mancha (28.5%) and Catalonia (28.4%). For its part, the debt of local corporations stood at 22,477 million euros (1.4% of GDP), 2.8% lower than the same period of the previous year.

The debt of all city councils decreases

Within this subsector, the provincial capital city councils concentrated 8,000 million euros, while those that are not provincial capitals accumulated 10,000 million, and the Provincial Councils, Councils and Island Councils added the remaining 4,000 million. Regarding municipalities with more than 300,000 inhabitants, Their joint debt was reduced by 1.2% compared to the previous yearuntil reaching 5,000 euros.

Within this group, Madrid City Council continued to register the highest volume of debt, with 2.1 billion euros, followed by Barcelona (1.4 billion) and Zaragoza (500 million). In terms of debt per inhabitant, Barcelona presented the highest figure with 788 euros, followed by Zaragoza (755 euros) and Madrid (601 euros).

On the contrary, the lowest debt per inhabitant ratios corresponded to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which has no debt, to Valencia with 89 euros and to Bilbao with 128 euros. Finally, the debt of the Social Security Administrations rose to 126,173 million euros, 8.6% higher than that observed a year before5, 7.6% in terms of GDP.