General government accounts in 2012 – The deficit is falling but debt continues to climb

In 2012, the public deficit notified to the European Commission stood at €98.2 billion, or 4.8% of GDP. Compared to 2011, it was down €7.2 billion, as income grew more rapidly than expenditure. As a proportion of GDP, public revenues increased by 1.2 points and spending by 0.8 points. The public deficit fell particularly for the State and to a lesser extent for social security organisations, while the deficit of local government increased. In 2012, the tax burden stood at 45.0% of GDP, up 1.2 points on 2011. The weight of public debt in relation to GDP progressed by 4.4 points to 90.2%.