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General government accounts 2009

Statistics Iceland releases now a new issue of Statistical Series. This issue presents the General Government Finances in 2009 and its main focus is on the general government. Similar information is available on its subsectors on the SI website. 

In 2009, the financial balance of the general government was 149 billion ISK in deficit or 9.9% of GDP, which can be compared with a deficit of 13.5% of GDP for 2008 (or 0.6% of GDP excluding the 192 billion ISK debt assumption) and a surplus of 5.4% for 2007. This adverse development in 2009 can mainly be explained by a 41 billion ISK decrease in tax revenue, a 49 billion ISK increase in interest payments, a 32 billion ISK increase in social contributions (due to e.g. higher unemployment) and a 27 billion ISK increase in government final consumption (despite a 1.7% decrease in value terms).

The general government total revenue amounted to 40.9% of GDP in 2009, compared with 44.2% in 2008 and 47.9% in 2007, and has therefore decreased considerably in recent years measured as percentage of GDP. The general government total expenditure amounted to 50.9% of GDP in 2009 compared with 57.8% in 2008 and 42.5% in 2007. Excluding the 192 billion ISK debt assumption 2008, the total expenditure increased by 102 billion ISK between 2008 and 2009.

 
¹The central government debt assumption of 192 billion ISK in 2008 is excluded in economic affairs.

Of the general government total expenditure 55.3% was spent on education, health and social protection or 422 billion ISK. On interest cost 98.6 billion ISK or 12.9% of the total expenditure and on economic affairs 90,2 billion ISK or 11.8% of the expenditure, of which 46 billion ISK was spent on transport and 15 billion ISK on agriculture. In total, 80% of the government expenditure was spend on these functions.   

The general government net financial asset, i.e. the financial assets less liabilities, was negative by 597 billion ISK in 2009 or 39,8% of GDP. The deterioration from 2009 is 212 billion ISK or 14.1% of GDP. The general government total financial asset amounted to 1,197 billion ISK at the end of 2009 and the total liabilities 1,794 billion ISK. It is needed to go back to 1998 to have worse net financial asset position; in that year it was 42.6% of GDP.

General government accounts 2009 - Statistical Series