Statistical releases provide a summary of the most recent values and trends for the published statistical indicators series compiled by the Croatian National Bank.
General government debt statistics for December 2022
According to the final[1] data of government finance statistics for the fourth quarter of 2022, the total consolidated debt of all general government sub-sectors reached EUR 46.1bn at the end of December 2022, up by EUR 0.4bn (or 0.9%) from the end of September 2022 and up by EUR 0.5bn (or 1.0%) from the end of December 2021. The annual increase in debt was due to a combination of a decrease in the external debt of EUR 0.6bn (or 3.8%) and an increase in the domestic debt of EUR 1.0bn (or 3.5%). Domestic debt fell by EUR 0.1bn (or 0.3%), and external debt rose by EUR 0.5bn (or 3.4%) compared to the end of the previous quarter.
Measured against the annual GDP[2], the share of debt in GDP continued to fall at a decreasing rate for the seventh quarter in a row and at end of 2022 recorded the lowest value since the end of 2012 when it stood at 69.2%. The total debt at the end of December 2022 amounted to 68.4% of GDP, which is a decrease of 10.0 percentage points on an annual basis from 78.4% of GDP at the end of December 2021 and a decrease of 2.0 percentage points from the end of the previous quarter, when this share stood at 70.4%. The annual fall in the debt-to-GDP ratio of 10 percentage points was the result of a very strong nominal GDP growth and a marginal increase in debt.
The general government debt structure by main debt instruments and maturity is available only on an unconsolidated basis. Long-term debt instruments dominate the maturity structure of unconsolidated debt: at the end of December 2022 most of this debt was made up of bonds (64.8%), the second by importance were long-term loans (30.5%), and last were short-term loans, securities and deposits (jointly 4.6%). The short-term debt components decrease by EUR 0.7bn (or 24.2%) on an annual basis from the end of December 2021 to the end of December 2022, while the long-term debt components increase by EUR 1.0bn (or 2.4%) during the same period.
Statistical time series: Table I3 General government debt (ESA 2010)