Excessive Deficit Procedure 2023
Public finances had a deficit of SEK 39 billion
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2024-09-30 8.00
In 2023, public finances net lending/net borrowing amounted to a deficit of SEK 39 billion, which corresponds to 0.6 percent of GDP. Compared to the previous year, public finances deteriorated by about SEK 100 billion. The consolidated gross debt of the public finance amounted to SEK 1 954 billion, which is 31.5 percent of GDP. Thus, Sweden meets the EU convergence requirements.
The central government and the social security funds reported a surplus in 2023, while the local government reported a deficit. All the subsectors showed a deteriorated net lending/net borrowing compared to the previous year.
Decline in public finances gross debt
The consolidated gross debt of the public finances decreased by SEK 18 billion from year 2022 to 2023. During the same period, GDP at current prices increased by SEK 341 billion, resulting in a decline of the consolidated gross debt from 33.6 percent to 31.5 percent of GDP. This figure is well below the EU convergence requirement of 60 percent of GDP.
Additionally, the central government’s consolidated gross debt fell by SEK 88 billion in 2023, totaling SEK 1,182 billion at the end of the year. The main reason was the National Central Bank repayment of loans, which reduced the Swedish National Debt Office’s need for borrowing.
In contrast, local government debt increased by SEK 62 billion, primarily driven by an increase in long-term loans. Furthermore, the consolidated gross debt of social security funds also increased by SEK 9 billion in 2023.
Revisions
The years 1993–2022 have been revised as part of benchmark revision of national accounts, where primarily the changed reporting of financial lease for local government has affected the gross debt and financial savings of the public finances. In total, financial savings has been revised downward by SEK 81 billion for these years. For 2023, the gross debt has been revised downward by SEK 11.4 billion, and financial savings upward by SEK 1.6 billion compared to the previous report in April. Most changes are due to new data and harmonization of reporting among EU member states.
The figures reported will be audited by Eurostat and may be revised during this process. In this event, revised estimates will be published on October 22 by both Statistics Sweden and Eurostat.
| SEK billions | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | 5 021.0 | 5 464.9 | 5 865.2 | 6 206.5 |
| Net lending/borrowing | ‑159.4 | ‑8.0 | 60.1 | ‑38.7 |
| Percentage of GDP (%) | ‑3.2 | ‑0.1 | 1.0 | ‑0.6 |
| Gross debt | 2 015.4 | 2 004.8 | 1 972.4 | 1 954.5 |
| Percentage of GDP (%) | 40.1 | 36.7 | 33.6 | 31.5 |
Definitions and explanations
According to the EU convergence requirements, the government deficit cannot be higher than 3 percent of GDP and gross debt is not allowed to be more than 60 percent of GDP.
Calculations of convergence requirements are somewhat different from the ordinary compilations in the financial accounts. For example, the gross debt is calculated at nominal value which is the amount that must be paid on maturity. In the financial accounts, gross debt is calculated at market value. Also, the gross debt comprises only certain financial instruments.
Further information about the statistics is available on Statistics Sweden’s website on www.scb.se/nr0108-en
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On 2025-03-31 at 08:00.
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