Preliminary results from municipalities and county councils for 2017:
Finances in municipalities and county councils remain strong
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2018-03-06 9.30
Municipal sector accounts showed a surplus of SEK 26.4 billion in 2017. This is an improvement of SEK 1.6 billion compared with the previous year. Increased tax income and income on property sales are the main reasons for the large surplus.
The municipal sector’s surplus continued to increase
Preliminary results for 2017 show a large surplus also this year in the municipal sector. It amounted to SEK 26.4 billion and is the largest surplus in this sector in the 2000s. This sector showed a strong surplus already last year, which increased further this year by SEK 1.6 billion compared with previous year.
Municipalities had the largest surplus, amounting to SEK 23.7 billion, while county councils’ surplus was SEK 2.7 billion, slightly lower than last year.
Increased tax income is a contributing factor to the improved surplus in the municipal sector. In 2017, tax income amounted to SEK 703.6 billion, up 5 percent from the previous year.
Most municipalities reported surplus
Municipalities improved their results by SEK 2.2 billion compared with the previous year. In 2016, municipalities already had a favourable budgetary position and this position continued in 2017. Sales of real estate was a factor that contributed to the good results.
Municipalities also received central government grants in 2017 to increase the construction of new housing, as well as some targeted central government grants for various activities.
In 2017, 94 percent of municipalities reported a surplus. This proportion is slightly lower than in the previous year, when 98 percent of municipalities showed a surplus.
Gällivare municipality stands out with an unusually high surplus, which is due to an urban transformation –a physical relocation of the Malmberget community. The surplus in Gällivare municipality amounted to SEK 1.9 billion, which is SEK 108 367 per inhabitant. In the rest of Sweden, the surplus is SEK 2 159 per inhabitant.
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Operational revenues
|
141.6 | 165.5 | 167.3 |
|
Operational expenditures
|
-599.6 | -645.5 | -670.8 |
|
Depreciation
|
-20.6 | -22.3 | -23.1 |
|
Net operational expenditures
|
-478.6 | -502.3 | -526.6 |
|
Tax revenues
|
409.1 | 431.7 | 453.3 |
|
Economic equalisation and general grants from central government
|
80.1 | 88.6 | 91.7 |
|
Financial revenues
|
10.1 | 8.9 | 10.6 |
|
Financial expenditures
|
-5.7 | -5.2 | -5.1 |
|
Income statement before extraordinary items
|
15 | 21.7 | 23.9 |
|
Extraordinary income
|
0 | 0.1 | 0.7 |
|
Extraordinary expenditures
|
-0.4 | -0.3 | -0.9 |
|
Net income (surplus)
|
14.6 | 21.5 | 23.7 |
In the table the Region of Gotland is included with 65 percent.
Most county councils also reported surplus
County council results for 2017 showed a surplus of SEK 2.7 billion, which is lower than last year, when it amounted to SEK 3.3 billion. Only five county councils reported a deficit in 2017.
Two revenue items that increased for county councils were tax revenues, and economic equalisation and general central government grants. These increased by just over 5 percent each.
In 2017, nine county councils achieved results of two percent or more of taxes and grants, which corresponds to the limit for sound economic management. In 2016, eight county councils reached this limit.
| 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Operational revenues
|
54.3 | 56.3 | 57.3 |
|
Operational expenditures
|
-317.5 | -333.3 | -348 |
|
Depreciation
|
-9.2 | -9.8 | -10.4 |
|
Net operational expenditures
|
-272.4 | -286.8 | -301.1 |
|
Tax revenues
|
225.2 | 238.2 | 250.3 |
|
Economic equalisation and general grants from central government
|
48 | 51.6 | 54.5 |
|
Financial revenues
|
3 | 2.8 | 3.4 |
|
Financial expenditures
|
-3.2 | -2.5 | -4.4 |
|
Income statement before extraordinary items
|
0.6 | 3.3 | 2.7 |
|
Extraordinary income
|
0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Extraordinary expenditures
|
0 | 0 | 0 |
|
Net income (surplus)
|
0.6 | 3.3 | 2.7 |
In the table the Region of Gotland is included with 35 percent.
Definitions and explanations
One municipality is missing in the combined surplus for the municipalities. Consequently, an estimation has been made to be able to present a total income statement for the municipalities.
Region Gotland is responsible for municipal tasks, county council tasks and also regional development. This means that it is very difficult to compare data for the income statement and balance sheet for Region Gotland with other municipalities and county councils in Sweden. Statistics Sweden has, in an attempt to comparability, estimated that 65 percent of their total activity concerns municipal activities, while 35 percent concerns county council activities. However, this is an estimation and comparisons with other municipalities and county councils should be made with caution.
The present figures are preliminary and can be revised.
Extraordinary items refer to income and expenditures that do not originate from regular activities. Income before extraordinary items is not always comparable, since what is considered as extraordinary can differ.
The figures are in current prices.
Next publishing will be
The next publication date is 20 March 2018.
More detailed accounts for the county councils and municipalities will be presented successively from April.
The final figures will be published on 30 August 2018.
Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.