Press release 30/07/2020

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION ACCOUNTS. 2018

The deficit of the Public Administrations in the Basque Country stood at 0.4% of GDP in 2018

The deficit reached 283 million euros, decreasing 857 million euros in respect of 2017

In 2018 the Public Administrations (Basque Administrations, Provincial State Administration and Provincial Social Security) registered a deficit of 283 million euros, 75.2% less than the previous year, according to data prepared by Eustat, in accordance with the criteria established by the System of National and Regional Accounts of the European Union (ESA-2010). This amount represented 0.4% of GDP, that is, 1.1 percentage points down on the previous year.

Of the Public Administrations, the Basque Administrations (which include the Basque Government, Provincial Councils, Municipal Entities and entities dependent on all of those, categorised as public administration) have reduced their funding capacity, from 2.1 % of GDP in 2017, to 1.5% in 2018. The Provincial Administration (State plus Social Security) registered a positive evolution, reducing the funding requirement from 3.6% of GDP in 2017 to 1.9% in 2018

The positive evolution of the balance of Public Administrations as a whole was also registered in the surrounding countries. Thus, in the 28-country European Union the deficit in GDP percentage fell by 0.4 percentage points, passing from 1.1% in 2017 to 0.7% in 2018. In Spain the deficit decreased by 0.5 percentage points, going from 3.0% of GDP in 2017, to 2.5% in 2018.

The Public Administrations in the Basque Country managed Non-Financial Resources totalling 28,203 million euros in 2018, whilst Non-Financial Spending reached 28,486 million euros. Resources increased by 5.2% compared to 2017, whilst growth in non-financial spending was lower, standing at 1.9%.

Within Non-Financial Resources, the largest sector was: Social Security Contributions (31.5% of the resources); followed by Taxes on Production and Imports, which accounted for 30.9%; and Taxes on Income, Assets and Other Components, 26.9%. Growth was most pronounced in the latter, 8.8%, with regards to the previous year, that is, 613 million euros more than in 2017. Taxes on Production and Imports were up by 489 million, that is, by 6.0%. Social security contributions also experienced an important increase, 3.6%, equivalent to a further 310 million. As a whole, Non-Financial Resources increased by 1,384 million, compared to 2017, up 5.2%.

Non-Financial Spending stood at 28,486 million euros, that is, 527 million more than in 2017. The highest expenditure was in the sector of Social benefits different from social transfers in kind (including pensions), which represented 40.9% of expenditure and increased by 401 million euros in respect of the previous year, up 3.6%. Employee remuneration, which represented 25.0% of expenditure, increased by 2.1%; the next largest sector, Intermediate consumption (14.1% of expenditure), also registered growth of 2.6% compared to 2017. In contrast, Gross Capital Formation and Capital Transfers (to be paid), which together accounted for 6.7% of expenditure, fell by 146 million. Another smaller sector that also fell was Subsidies, 2.0% of expenditure, which decreased by 43 million in respect of 2017.

From the institutional point of view, in the Basque Country the Provincial State Administration obtained a positive balance or funding requirement of 658 million euros, improving the balance of the previous year, in which it obtained a funding capacity of 635 million euros as a result of the imputation in national accounts of the integral amount of the liquidation of the quota of previous financial years agreed in 2017 in favour of Provincial Councils and Basque Government. This does not apply in 2018. On the other hand, Provincial Social Security registered a funding requirement of 2,113 million in 2018, 78 million more than in 2017.

Regarding the Basque Administrations, they went from having a funding capacity of 1,530 million in 2017 to 1,172 million in 2018.

The funding capacity of entities of the Basque Government as a whole decreased by 564 million euros, going from having a funding capacity of 1,095 million euros in 2017 to 531 million euros in 2018, due to the aforementioned imputation in national accounts of the integral amount of the liquidation of the quota of previous financial years in favour of the Basque Administrations, which does not apply in 2018.

The regional and municipal Administrations of the three provinces also obtained a positive balance. The positive balance in the Regional and Municipal Administration of Álava as a whole decreased by 42 million euros, from 99 million in 2017 to 57 million in 2018. Bizkaia, in turn, increased its positive balance from 189 million in 2017 to 360 million in 2018. The funding capacity for Gipuzkoa as a whole also increased, going from 146 million in 2017 to 224 million in 2018.

In the final expenditure structure of the Public Administrations, Final Consumption Expenditure, which is the total expenditure by the administrations on the production of goods and services plus the purchase of goods and services produced by market producers which are supplied to households (social transfers in kind), represented 90.1% of the Internal Public Demand in 2018 and Gross Capital Formation accounted for 9.9%. Institutionally, 91.2% of investments corresponded to the Basque Administrations, with an increase of 2.6% compared to 2017, going from 1,207 million in 2017 to 1,239 million in 2018, and the remaining 8.8% to the Provincial Administration as a whole, State plus Social Security, which decreased by 24.4%, going from 157 million in 2017 to 119 million in 2018.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tel: 945 01 75 62