Data

The Government Finance Statistics (GFS) summary tables show in an integrated way the following:

  • government revenue and expenditure;
  • government surplus (+)/deficit (-), referred to in national accounts terminology as net lending (+)/net borrowing (-);
  • transactions in financial assets and liabilities;
  • other changes in assets and liabilities (other changes in volume and revaluation);
  • balance sheets.

This presentation is similar to that of business accounting where the profit and loss account and the balance sheet are presented together in an integrated manner.

The GFS cover data for the general government sector (S.13) and its subsectors.

The general government sector (S.13) consists of 4 subsectors:

  • central government (S.1311),
  • state government (S.1312),
  • local government (S.1313) and
  • social security funds (S.1314).

The GFS summary tables are presented on both an annual and quarterly basis.

Aggregates for the euro area and the EU are calculated using Eurostat's aggregation method. This involves the conversion of national currency data into a single currency: the euro (or the ECU before 1999), using for flows the average exchange rate of the period, and for stocks the end of period exchange rate.

The summary GFS tables present individual data for all the EU Member States, as well as aggregates for the EU and the euro area. In addition, data for the EFTA countries Iceland, Norway and Switzerland are also available. The GFS tables draw on data from various Eurostat databases in an integrated manner. They also contain useful metadata for the interpretation of these statistical data.

Data availability

Annual GFS summary tables are compiled twice per year, usually at the end of April and at the end of October. They are available as Excel files.

Quarterly GFS summary tables are compiled 4 times per year. They are available as Excel files.

Quarterly Summary Government Finance Statistics

Quarterly Government Finance Statistics summary tables (last update 22 April 2024).

These quarterly tables use a presentation similar to the annual tables. They show, for each EU Member State, the data measured in millions of national currency, as percentages of GDP (rolling year average), and as quarter-to-quarter (rolling year average) growth rates.

Annual Summary Government Finance Statistics

Annual Government Finance Statistics summary tables - full version (last update 22 April 2024)

Annual Government Finance Statistics summary tables - condensed version (last update 22 April 2024)

Revision policy

Eurostat asks EU Member States to transmit data according to a pre-defined timetable. In general, EU Member States introduce revisions to their data before each transmission. Eurostat accepts all revisions, provided that an adequate explanation is provided. In the public database aggregates for the euro area and EU are automatically updated when national series change.