Methodological Notes
1. Data in this news release is compiled in order to provide users with regular up-to-date information on the Consolidated Fund of Government. Data are sourced as follows:
i. Revenue and Expenditure, and Public Debt Servicing → The Consolidated Fund, the transactions of which are consolidated at the Treasury.
ii. Central Government Debt (excluding EBUs and Local Councils) → Central Bank of Malta and the Treasury.
All allocations provided from the Consolidated Fund are either authorised by Parliament under an Appropriation Act, or are permanently appropriated by Parliament under other relevant legislation. On the other hand, the Treasury Clearance Fund contains all those funds and accounts the expenses in respect of which are initially defrayable out of public funds and are eventually repayable from the Consolidated Fund or other sources.
2. In this release Revenue and Expenditure categories are recorded in accordance with their presentation in the 2024 Financial Estimates.
3. This news release follows the guidelines set out in the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010) Manual on Government Deficit and Debt. Therefore, the difference between the recurrent revenue and expenditure as listed in Table 1 is essentially the cash-based position as far as the Central Government’s Consolidated Fund is concerned. In this respect, financial transactions, such as proceeds from loans, proceeds from sale of financial assets, and revenue from other accounts of Government are not taken into consideration. Likewise, direct loan repayments, contributions to sinking funds, acquisition of equity, as well as transfers into other accounts of Government, are excluded from the total expenditure.
4. The debt position includes the actual debt which is held by Government. On the other hand, any investments made by Government in its own funds are excluded from the total debt. As from December 2007, the Euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury are considered as a currency liability pertaining to the Central Government.
5. Data in this release are subject to revision. Any revisions to the data are carried out at the first opportunity and published accordingly in the subsequent news release.
6. The Enhanced Economic Governance package adopted by the European Parliament and Council in November 2011 included requirements on the collection and dissemination of fiscal data, through the Council Directive 2011/85/EU. The requirements in the government finance statistics domain included a methodological reconciliation table (showing the transition between monthly data used for national policy purposes and ESA-quarterly data used to produce national accounts and EU fiscal surveillance).
a. Reconciliation Table
b. ESA 2010 Glossary.
7. Data on Government Expenditure by the Classification of Functions of Government (COFOG) classifies government expenditure data by the purpose for which the funds are used. COFOG data in Table 2 refers to the total expenditure of the Consolidated Fund and is not fully consistent with the General Government sector expenditure by function in ESA 2010 methodology, that is compiled by NSO on an annual basis with a delay of one year. The functions are in line with the COFOG classifications as published in the Government Finance Statistics Manual 2001 (ISBN 1-58906-061-X).
8. Table 3 presents the Consolidated Fund year to date in ESA 2010 codes according to the EU Council Directive 85/2011 requirements.
9. Government Finance data for December 2023 will be published on 28th March 2024.
10. More information relating to this news release may be accessed at:
Statistical Concepts
Statistical Database
11. A detailed news release calendar is available online.
12. For guidance on access and re-use of data please visit our dedicated webpage.
13. For further assistance send your request through our online request form.
Government Finance Data: January 2024
- By the end of January 2024, Government’s Consolidated Fund registered a deficit of €82.3 million.
- Compared to the previous year, recurrent revenue and total expenditure increased by €94.1 million and €55.4 million, respectively. The increase in recurrent revenue outweighed that in expenditure leading to a positive change in the Government’s Consolidated Fund by €38.7 million.
- The largest rise in revenue was recorded under Income Tax (€31.3 million), while Programmes and Initiatives (€47.5 million) reported the biggest increase among the expenditure categories.
- By the end of January 2024, Central Government Debt totalled €9,759.4 million, €856.9 million higher than the corresponding month in 2023.
Government Finance Data: January 2024
Government Finance Data: January 2024
By the end of January 2024, Recurrent Revenue amounted to €446.0 million, €94.1 million higher than the figure reported a year earlier. The largest increases were recorded under Income Tax (€31.3 million), Licences, Taxes and Fines (€11.9 million) and Grants (€11.7 million).
Total expenditure in January 2024 stood at €528.3 million, €55.4 million higher than the previous year.
During the reference period, Recurrent Expenditure totalled €487.4 million, an increase of €44.1 million compared to the €443.3 million reported at the end of January 2023. The main contributor to this increase was a €47.5 million rise reported under Programmes and Initiatives. Furthermore, increases were also recorded under Operational and Maintenance Expenses (€11.2 million) and Personal Emoluments (€7.3 million). On the other hand, Contributions to Government Entities fell by €21.9 million, following lower contributions, among others, towards the Malta Tourism Authority (€19.9 million) and Mental Health Services (€2.7 million).
The main developments in the Programmes and Initiatives category involved higher outlays towards Social security benefits (€40.9 million), Energy Support Measures (€13.2 million) and Allocation in respect of Local Councils (€4.4 million). The increase in outlay was partially offset by a drop witnessed under Hospital concession agreements (€15.2 million).
The interest component of the public debt servicing costs totalled €19.8 million, an increase of €5.3 million when compared to the previous year.
In January 2024, Government’s capital spending amounted to €21.1 million, €6.0 million higher than 2023. This increase resulted from higher expenditure towards Road construction and improvements (€4.0 million), Property, plant and equipment (€2.9 million) and Maritime facilities (€2.9 million). Conversely, outlay towards National Identity Management Systems fell by €2.0 million.
The difference between total revenue and expenditure resulted in a deficit of €82.3 million being reported in the Government’s Consolidated Fund at the end of January 2024. Compared to the same period in 2023, there was a decrease in deficit of €38.7 million. This difference mirrors an increase in total Recurrent Revenue (€94.1 million), partly offset by a rise in total expenditure, which consists of Recurrent Expenditure (€44.1 million), Interest (€5.3 million) and Capital Expenditure (€6.0 million) (Table 1).
At the end of January 2024, Central Government debt stood at €9,759.4 million, an increase of €856.9 million when compared to 2023. The increase reported under Malta Government Stocks (€1,037.1 million) was the main contributor to the rise in debt. Higher debt was also reported under Foreign Loans (€71.9 million) and Euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury (€4.1 million). This increase in debt was partially offset by drops in Treasury Bills (€177.4 million) and the 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond (€23.4 million). Finally, higher holdings by government funds in Malta Government Stocks resulted in a decrease in debt of €55.5 million (Table 6).
Chart 1. Consolidated Fund Surplus/Deficit: January by year
in € millions
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Chart 2. Recurrent Revenue by main category
January 2024
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Chart 3. Expenditure by main category
January 2024
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