Annual Non-financial Accounts by Institutional Sectors: 2020-2024
- The net lending of the national economy compared to the rest of the world stood at €1,853 million in 2024.
- Gross national income reached €20,258 million in 2024 and the gross national disposable income stood at €19,954 million.
- The savings rate of households is estimated at 19.4 per cent of their gross disposable income in 2024, compared to 15.1 per cent in 2023.
- Economic growth in 2024 was primarily driven by the non-financial corporate sector, which saw an 8.8 per cent increase in value added (2023: +15.6 per cent), contributing 5.6 percentage points to the overall trend.
Annual Non-financial Accounts by Institutional Sectors: 2020-2024
Annual Non-financial Accounts by Institutional Sectors: 2020-2024
Sectoral Non-Financial Accounts: 2024
The national economy recorded a net lending compared with the rest of the world (RoW) of €1,853 million in 2024, which represents 8.0 per cent of the GDP of the said period. This is an improvement compared to 2023, when the economy registered a net lending of €1,591 million or 7.6 per cent of GDP.
This increase is primarily driven by a stronger surplus in foreign trade in goods and services, which rose by €562 million. This increase was partially offset by a decline in the net flows of primary and secondary income transactions amounting to €275 million, and a reduction in the balance of capital transfers by €27 million. The €275 million decrease is mainly due to a drop in net property income and in net other current transfers paid to the RoW, amounting to €279 million and €503 million respectively. These were partly compensated by a €420 million increase in the adjustment for the change in pension entitlements and an €85 million rise in taxes on income received. The drop in other current transfers and the increase in the adjustment for the change in pension entitlements relate to transactions between financial sector, which is inclusive of pension schemes operating for the non-domestic market, and the RoW. The increase in taxes on income relate to the Individual Investor Programme.
The balancing items derived from the full sequence of non-financial accounts of the national economy are presented in Table 1.
A more detailed representation of the national economy is available in Table 2 while a detailed breakdown of the rest of the world is available in Table 9.
The increase in net lending can be mainly attributed to the household sector which experienced a higher net balance of property income fuelled by an increase of €1,064 million in compensation of employees and €187 million in net property income. This increase was partially offset by an increase of €550 million in net borrowing in the financial corporations’ sector triggered by a drop in the gross disposable income.
Table 1 presents the contribution of each institutional sector to the net lending and borrowing.
Chart 1. Net lending (+) / Net borrowing (-) of the national economy by institutional sector
in € millions
Dynamics in economic growth
In 2024, the value added at basic prices generated by the national economy marked a growth of 10.1 per cent in nominal terms compared to the previous year.
Favourable developments were observed across all institutional sectors. In particular, the growth in the economy was led by the non-financial corporate sector, whose value added increased by 8.8 per cent, contributing 5.6 percentage points to the overall trend in 2024. The household sector which includes unincorporated enterprises and self-employed workers, recorded a growth in value added of €387 million or 13.5 per cent, which translated into a contribution of 2.0 percentage points to the overall growth of 2024. The value added generated by the activity of general government increased by 13.5 per cent compared to the previous year, resulting in a contribution of 1.6 percentage points to the overall growth of 2024. The financial sector generated a growth of 7.2 per cent in value added, resulting in a contribution of 0.6 percentage points to the overall growth of 2024.
Chart 2. Growth in value added, gross of the national economy (S.1) and contribution to growth by institutional sector
Non-financial corporations
Gross value added generated by non-financial corporations increased by 8.8 per cent in 2024 compared to 2023. A sharp 11.8 per cent rise in compensation of employees resulted in a muted increase in gross operating surplus and mixed income, which rose by just 4.8 per cent. The share of the sector’s gross operating surplus in its value added stood at 56.4 per cent in 2024 compared to the 58.6 per cent of 2023. The share of the sector’s compensation of employees in the economy stood at 61.4 per cent.
If we add the net balance of property income (interest, dividends, etc.) to the gross operating surplus and mixed income of the sector, we derive the balance of gross primary income, which increased by 2.6 per cent with respect to the previous year.
The evolution of the flows in the secondary income distribution account (corporate taxes, social contributions and benefits and other current transfers) led to a fall in disposable income of non-financial corporations by 6.6 per cent. This was mainly due to an increase in taxes on income of €350 million.
As in previous years, this disposable income, together with the capitals transfer balance, was sufficient to finance investment (Table 3).
In turn, the investment rate of non-financial corporations stood at 17.4 per cent of their gross value added, 0.4 percentage points lower than in the previous year. The non-financial corporations’ self-investment ratio which is derived by taking the sector’s gross saving and dividing it by their gross fixed capital formation stood at 1.5 in 2024, at par with the average of the previous 5 years (Table 10).
As a result, a net lending of €1,575 million is estimated for the sector, compared with €1,588 million in 2023 (Table 3).
Chart 3. Gross operating surplus and investment by non-financial corporations
Percentage over Gross Value Added
Financial corporations
In 2024, the gross value added of financial corporations increased by 7.2 per cent compared to the previous year. The sector’s gross operating surplus and mixed income rose by 5.4 per cent. Meanwhile, the share of compensation of employees within the economy stood at 8.8 per cent.
The net balance of property income (including interest, dividends, etc.) received by the sector declined by €191 million, resulting in a €146 million decrease in the balance of primary income.
Considering flows in the secondary income distribution account, such as corporate income tax, social security contributions and benefits, and other current transfers, the sector’s gross disposable income was estimated at -€712 million. This marks a significant decline from 2023, primarily due to a €369 million increase in taxes on income paid by the financial sector.
Gross capital formation by financial corporations reached €375 million, an increase of €19 million over the previous year. After factoring in capital transfers, the sector recorded a net borrowing of €817 million, up from €267 million in 2023 (Table 4).
General government
Gross value added of general government increased by 13.5 per cent in 2024 compared to the previous year. The share of the sector’s compensation of employees in the economy stood at 23.0 per cent.
The gross disposable income for the general government reached €4,304 million in 2024, that is 29.8 per cent more than the previous year. This contributed to the sector’s increase in gross savings, from -€122 million in 2023 to €398 million in 2024. This significant improvement was registered, despite the increase of 13.6 per cent in final consumption expenditure compared to the previous year.
Investment by the general government sector was estimated at €736 million, with an increase of 1.5 per cent when compared to the previous year. Savings and investment in the sector, together with the balance of capital transfers, led the sector to generate a net borrowing of €812 million in 2024, indicating a slight improvement over 2023 (Table 5).
Chart 4. General government saving and net lending and borrowing
in € millions
Households
The households sector includes individuals or groups of individuals whose principal function is consumption, and that produce goods and non-financial services for exclusively own final use. Own final use relates to services of owner-occupied dwellings, domestic services produced by paid employees. The household sector also includes sole proprietorships and partnerships without legal status, other than those treated as quasi-corporations, and which are market producers.
The gross value added generated by the household sector increased by 13.5 per cent in 2024 compared to the previous year. Similarly, operating surplus increased by 16.5 per cent, while mixed income which represents the income from self-employment increased by 10.9 per cent. The share of the sector’s compensation of employees in the economy stood at 4.1 per cent.
The increase of €1,589 million in gross balance of primary income is explained by an increase of €338 million in gross operating surplus and mixed income, an increase of €1,064 million in compensations receivable by employees, and an increase of €187 million in the net balance of property income received by the sector (interests, dividends, etc.). This increase in the gross balance of primary income mostly explains the 15.1 per cent increase in gross disposable income given that the combined performance of secondary income distribution flows (income and wealth tax, social contributions and social benefits and other current transfers) amounted to just €48 million. Gross disposable income stood at €12,478 million in 2024. Household final consumption expenditure was estimated at €10,065 million, with an increase of 9.3 per cent compared to the previous year. As a result, household savings were estimated at €2,418 million (Table 6).
The household savings rate stood at 19.4 per cent of gross disposable income, compared to 15.1 per cent in the previous year. Households’ gross disposable income per head increased by 11.9 per cent in 2024, compared to 9.8 per cent in 2023 at current prices. On the other hand, real households’ gross disposable income per head increased by 8.6 per cent in 2024 compared to 3.2 per cent in 2023 (Table 10).
Household investment reached €904 million in 2024 compared to €852 million in the previous year. In turn, the investment rate of households, stood at 7.2 per cent of their gross disposable income, 0.6 percentage points lower than the previous year.
After considering the balance of capital transfers in the sector, households recorded a net lending of €1,917 million compared to the €1,195 million estimated in 2023 (Table 6).
Chart 5. Household savings, gross
Percentage over Gross Disposable Income
In € millions
Non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH)
In 2024, the gross value added generated by the NPISH sector increased by 20.1 per cent compared to the previous year, primarily driven by higher compensation of employees within the Education industry.
The sector’s gross disposable income reached €390 million, marking a 10.8 per cent increase over 2023. This was mainly attributed to a €33 million rise in net current transfers.
Final consumption expenditure rose by 14.2 per cent, amounting to €386 million. Consequently, gross savings within the sector dropped by €10 million in 2024 when compared to previous year.
Investment by NPISH totalled €17 million, reflecting a slight increase over the previous year. Considering the balance of capital transfers, the sector recorded a net borrowing of €10 million, in contrast to the net lending of €2 million observed in 2023 (Table 7).
Methodological Notes
1. The objective of the annual non-financial accounts for the institutional sectors is to analyse the economic relationships between the institutional units that form the national economy (non-financial corporations (S.11), financial corporations (S.12), general government (S.13), households (S.13) and non-profit institutions serving households (S.15)) and between them and the rest of the world in an ordered series of accounts that describe each phase of economic process (production and creation of income, distribution and redistribution, final consumption, savings and asset accumulation). These results are prepared in compliance with the conceptual and regulatory framework established by the European System of National and Regional Accounts (ESA 2010), approved by the Regulation (EU) 549/2013, of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 21 May. More information on the sequence of non-financial account is available in ESA 2010, Chapter 8.
2. In February 2025, the National Statistics Office (NSO), published the Non-financial Annual Sector Accounts (ASA) Inventory. It aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the national compilation procedures of annual non-financial accounts by institutional sector according to the European System of National and Regional Accounts (ESA 2010).
3. The results are disseminated 90 days following the end of the reference year (t+90 days, being t the reference year). These results are consistent with the quarterly non-financial accounts for the institutional sectors compiled at t+85 following the end of the reference year (t+85 days, being t the reference quarter). In case of Malta, quarterly non-financial accounts are only compiled for S.1, S.2 and S.13. The rest of the sectors are voluntary for countries whose GDP at current prices represents less than 1 per cent of the corresponding Union total. The 1 per cent threshold is calculated as a moving average based on the latest three available years. The quarterly non-financial accounts for the institutional sectors dataset is available online. This calendar is compatible with the requirements for availability of national accounts results established by Regulation (EU) 549/2013 on the European System of National and Regional Accounts 2010.
4. Data in this news release are consistent with the Gross Domestic Product: Q2/2025 news release published on 28 August 2025 and should be considered provisional for 2021 to date. A press information notice published on 13 August provides an overview of updates applied from 2020 onwards in main aggregates and ASA.
5. Compared to the previous release which covered 1995 to 2023, a refinement has been done with respect to operating surplus (B2G) and mixed income (B3G) for the whole time series. The System of National Accounts (2008 SNA) specifies that §7.9: “…For owner-occupiers and those leasing dwellings, all value added is operating surplus” and §24.55: “By convention, all the value added arising from leasing dwellings is treated as operating surplus, not mixed income”. From this release, the surplus generated by households leasing dwellings is recorded as operating surplus rather than mixed income. The operating surplus generated by home owner-occupiers in their capacity as producers of housing services for own final consumption was already included in operating surplus. Since this is a shift within operating surplus plus mixed income (gross) (B2A3G), it is neutral on subsequent balancing items which include savings, disposable income and net lending and borrowing. Another enhancement to the whole time series was applied to market output (P11) and output for own final use (P12). Market output in relation to owner-occupied dwellings (part of Real estate activities) and activities of households as employers of domestic personnel was shifted to output for own final use. Since this only effects the breakdown of output (P1), there is no impact on the full sequence of accounts.
6. A more detailed breakdown of annual non-financial accounts by the institutional sectors and by variable are available online.
7. References to this news release are to be cited appropriately. For guidance on access and re-use of data please visit our dedicated webpage.
8. More information relating to this news release may be accessed at:
9. A detailed news release calendar is available online.
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