Public debt in Germany rose to a record high of 2,368 billion euros last year. This corresponds to a per capita debt of 28,164 euros, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office.
Accordingly, it is 244 euros more than at the end of 2021. The overall public budget consists of the federal government, states, municipalities and municipal associations as well as social security including all extra budgets.
At the end of 2022, public debt rose by 2.0 percent or 47.1 billion euros compared to the previous year and thus to the highest national debt level measured in the debt statistics at the end of a year. This growth came about through debt increases at the federal and municipal levels, while the states and social security were able to reduce debt, it said.
At the end of 2022, the federal government was in debt with 1620.4 billion euros. The debt level rose by 71.9 billion euros or 4.6 percent compared to the previous year, as the Federal Office further announced. Converted to the number of inhabitants of Germany, the debts of the federal government amounted to 19,272 euros per capita.
Debt highest in city-states
The debts of the federal states, on the other hand, fell by 31.7 billion euros or 5.0 percent to 606.9 billion euros compared to 2021. The average level of debt per capita was 7218 euros. Despite falling, debt per capita remained highest in the city-states, with Bremen at €33,264, Hamburg at €17,731 and Berlin at €16,564.
As in 2021, Saarland had the highest debt per inhabitant among the non-city states at EUR 13,651, followed by Schleswig-Holstein at EUR 11,188. As in previous years, per capita debt was lowest in Saxony at 1352 euros and Bavaria at 1425 euros.
The debt of the municipalities and municipal associations grew by 6.9 billion euros or 5.1 percent to 140.8 billion euros. According to the information, this results in a per capita debt of 1809 euros. The per capita debt of the municipalities was highest in Rhineland-Palatinate, followed by North Rhine-Westphalia, and lowest in Brandenburg and Saxony.
