General government accounts in 2017 The public deficit falls below 3% of GDP

In 2017, the public deficit as defined in the Maastricht Treaty amounts to €59.5 billion, i.e. 2.6 % of gross domestic product (GDP). In a favorable economic environment, revenues rose by 4.0%, an unprecedented rate since 2011. Expenditure is also accelerating, but less visibly (2.5%). The share of spending in GDP, on the other hand, fell by 0.2 percentage points, as it had already done the previous year. The government deficit is shrinking. The balance of social security administrations has come to the surplus side for the first time since 2008. Only the balance of local government is deteriorating, while remaining positive. The total tax burden increased by 0.7 points of GDP. The debt-to-GDP ratio increased by 0.2 points, reaching 96.8 %.