household
German mountain of debt continues to grow
Last year, 132.5 billion euros more were spent than received. Photo: Bernd Wüstneck/ZB/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Before the pandemic, the debt ratio had been falling for seven straight years. However, the state corona aid is causing the mountain of debt to grow.
Germany’s mountain of debt also grew in the second year of Corona – albeit at a slightly slower pace than in the first year of the pandemic.
According to calculations by the Bundesbank, the national debt increased by 162 billion to 2.476 trillion euros in 2021. The main drivers were the state corona aid.
According to preliminary information from Thursday, the debt ratio – i.e. the ratio of debt to total nominal economic output – rose by 0.6 points to 69.3 percent within a year. This is the second time that Germany has exceeded the maximum of 60 percent agreed in the European Maastricht agreements.
In the years leading up to the pandemic, the debt ratio had fallen for seven straight years. According to the latest calculations, in 2019 Germany fell below the 60 percent mark for the first time since 2002 at 58.9 percent.
Germany had the highest debt ratio to date in 2010 at 82 percent. At that time, the federal government had put billions into the rescue of banks during the economic and financial crisis. According to calculations by the Federal Statistical Office, the federal government, states, municipalities and social security funds spent 132.5 billion euros more than they took in last year.