Quarterly non-financial accounts (t/t-4)
During the period July to September 2022, total revenue stood at €1,474.5 million, an increase of €151.1 million when compared to the corresponding quarter in 2021. Almost all components of General Government revenue recorded an increase, with Current taxes on income and wealth registering an increase of €68.6 million over the same period in 2021. This was followed by Net social contributions receivable (€45.0 million), Taxes on production and imports (€44.5 million), Property income receivable (€1.3 million), Market output (€1.1 million) and Current transfers receivable (€0.3 million). In contrast, Capital transfers receivable decreased by €9.7 million (Table 2).
Total expenditure in the third quarter of 2022 amounted to €1,601.5 million, a decrease of €18.6 million over the corresponding quarter in 2021. The largest decrease was recorded in Current transfers payable (€81.6 million), followed by Social benefits and social transfers in kind (€0.8 million) and Current taxes on income and wealth (€0.4 million). These decreases were partially offset by increases in Subsidies payable (€44.2 million), Compensation of employees (€7.6 million), Gross capital formation (€4.7 million), Property income payable (€3.8 million), Capital transfers payable (€3.3 million) and Intermediate consumption (€0.7 million) (Table 3).
Adjustments were made to the Government’s Consolidated Fund data to shift to accrual-based accounts and thus comply with the requirements of ESA 2010. In the third quarter of 2022, these adjustments brought about an increase of €123.4 million to the Consolidated Fund deficit (Table 4).
Quarterly financial accounts (t/t-1)
In relation to financial transactions in assets, during the third quarter, Currency and deposits, and Other accounts receivable registered a decrease of €82.1 million and €18.6 million, respectively, while Long-term loans decreased by €0.6 million. The other instruments did not record any significant changes (Table 7).
Considering the financial transactions in liabilities, the highest increase was recorded in Short-term debt securities (€110.9 million), followed by Long-term debt securities (€76.4 million) and Long-term loans (€2.1 million). In contrast, decreases were registered in Currency and deposits (€93.7 million) and Other accounts payable (€76.0 million) (Table 8).
Quarterly debt (t/t-4)
At the end of September, General Government debt stood at €8,737.8 million, or 53.2 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)1. This equates to an increase of €762.0 million over the corresponding quarter in 2021, largely reflected in Central Government Debt, which amounted to €8,735.7 million. Currency and deposits stood at €474.3 million, an increase of €5.3 million over September of 2021. This includes euro coins issued in the name of the Treasury, considered a liability of Central Government, and the 62+ Malta Government Savings Bond, the latter amounting to €377.0 million. Long-term and short-term debt securities increased by €473.9 million and €277.5 million, respectively. Long-term loans increased by €6.8 million, while Short-term loans decreased by €1.5 million. Local Government debt stood at €2.1 million (Table 9).
General Government guaranteed debt amounted to €1,164.3 million at the end of September 2022, equivalent to 7.1 per cent of GDP. There was a decrease of €38.0 million when compared to the third quarter of 2021 (Table 9).
Chart 1. General Government surplus (+) / deficit (-)
in € thousands
No Data Found
Footnote
Additional Tables and Charts
Methodological Notes
1. All data in this news release are in line with the European System of Accounts (ESA) 2010 Manual (ISBN 978-92-79-31242-7). This system of accounts is mandatory for all EU Member States.
2. General Government Sector (S.13 sector according to the ESA2010 definitions) is made up of the Central Government Sector (S.1311) and the Local Government Sector (S.1313). The Central Government Sector includes the Budgetary Central Government, made up of Government ministries and departments and the Extra Budgetary Units (EBUs).
3. As a general rule, ESA 2010 states that all financial assets and liabilities are to be valued using current market prices on the date to which the balance sheet relates. Changes between opening and closing stocks may also include other economic flows which are not due to financial transactions. The other economic flows are broken down into revaluations in financial assets and liabilities, and other changes in the volume of financial assets and liabilities. The other economic flows data can be found in the excel version of this news release.
4. The deficit calculated from the non-financial accounts (B.9) should be consistent with the deficit measured from the financial accounts (B.9f) however, differences arise due to different sources and estimations.
5. Quarterly General Government Debt (Table 9) may not be consistent with the reported government liabilities in the Quarterly Financial Accounts for General Government (QFAGG) (Table 6). They differ because of the different valuation rules: government liabilities are reported at market value, whereas government debt is reported at nominal value excluding accrued interest. In Table 9, General Government debt is in line with Maastricht debt provisions, at the end of the period indicated. All aggregates are consolidated between the different sub-sectors of General Government. The government guarantees reported in Table 9 are on debt instruments. Government guarantees include guarantees granted by the EBUs but exclude government guarantees provided to EBUs. There are two types of guarantees: one-off (individual and large amounts) and standardised (issued in large numbers, for fairly small amounts and identical terms).
6. The figures for taxes on production and imports are treated differently between the compilation of the GDP and the General Government Sector accounts. In the latter an adjustment is made for the payment of the EU own resources on import duties.
7. The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) was established on 7 June 2010 for the purpose of providing stability support to Euro Area Member States (EAMS). The EFSF finances such support by issuing or entering into bonds, notes, commercial paper, or other financing arrangements. The operations are backed by guarantees of the EAMS on the basis of an agreed ‘adjusted contribution key’. On 27 January 2011, Eurostat decided that the debt issued by the EFSF for each support operation must be rerouted to the public accounts of the EAMS providing guarantees, proportionately to their contribution key. Therefore, the recording of such flows will impact the gross government debt (as defined in the Maastricht Treaty) but not the net debt. In addition, all revenue/expenditure streams (interest, margins and service fees) will be recorded in the General Government accounts, resulting in a positive impact on the deficit/surplus of the EAMS.
8. The GDP used in the fiscal ratios is calculated using the sum of the quarterly GDP for the last four quarters. Source of GDP data: News Release 218/2022 dated 29th November 2022.
9. All data in this release should be considered as provisional and therefore subject to revision. Figures may not add up due to rounding.
10. t/t-4 refers to the change over the corresponding quarter in the previous year.
t/t-1 refers to the change over the previous quarter.
11. More information relating to this news release may be accessed at:
Statistical Concepts
Sources and Methods
Statistical Database
12. Any quotations from this news release are to be cited and/or referenced.
13. A detailed news release calendar is available online.
- In the third quarter of 2022, the General Government recorded a deficit of €127.0 million.
- Compared to the corresponding quarter in 2021, total revenue increased by €151.1 million, while total expenditure decreased by 18.6 million.
- At the end of the third quarter of 2022, the General Government debt stood at €8,737.8 million, an increase of €762.0 million over the same quarter in 2021.
- The Government guaranteed debt amounted to €1,164.3 million at the end of September 2022, a decrease of €38.0 million when compared to 2021Q3.
