Statistics Iceland releases now a new issue of Statistical Series. This issue presents the General Government Finances in 2006 and its main focus is on the general government. Similar information is available on its subsectors on the SI website.
The general government financial balance was positive by 7% of GDP in 2006 which is the largest surplus measured in historical terms. In 2005, the surplus was 5.2% of GDP and in 2004 0.2%. This good result is mostly due to a record high surplus in central government finances in 2005 and 2006, which amounted to 4.5% and 5.3% of GDP, respectively. But the local government finances have also turned to better terms in these two years and showed a postive financial balance of 0.4% of GDP in 2005 and 0.9% of GDP in 2006.
The general government revenue amounted to 48.8% of GDP in 2006, compared with 47.6% in 2005 and reached its higest value as percentage of GDP. The total revenue has increased considerably since 2002, when it was mea¬sured as 41.7% of GDP. The general government total expenditure amounted to 41.8% of GDP in 2006 compared with 42.3% in 2005. The total expenditure had its highest value as percentage of GDP in 2003 reaching 45.6%.
In 2006, the total expenditure on health was 9.2% of GDP, of which 83.5% was financed by the general government and the rest by households. One fifth of general government total expenditure goes to health affairs and similar amount goes to education as well as social protection. The total expenditure on edu¬cation was 8.3% of GDP in 2006, of which 91.4% was financed by the general government. The general government expenditure on social protection was 94.6 billion ISK in 2006 or 8.1% of GDP. The peak of this expenditure was in 2003 when it amounted to 9.7% of GDP.
The general government net financial asset, i.e. the financial assets less liabilities, was negative by 92.6 billion ISK in 2006 or by 8% of GDP. It had though improved by 46.7 billion ISK between 2005 and 2006 and by 164.5 billion ISK between 2004 and 2006, or by nearly 20% of GDP in two years.
General government finances 2006 - Statistical Series