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Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.

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Structure of government debt (gov_10dd_sgd)

Reference Metadata in Euro SDMX Metadata Structure (ESMS)

Compiling agency: Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

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Data are the result of the annual structure of government debt survey and cover the EU Member States and Norway.

The following series are available:

Central government gross debt by initital maturity, financial instrument and sector of debt holder;
State government gross debt by initital maturity, financial instrument and sector of debt holder;
Local government gross debt by initital maturity, financial instrument and sector of debt holder;
Social security funds gross debt by initital maturity, financial instrument and sector of debt holder;
General government gross debt by initital maturity, financial instrument and sector of debt holder;
Debt by currency of issuance;
Government guarantees (contingent liabilities);
Remaining maturity and average remaining maturity of debt;
Apparent cost of the debt;
Market value of debt.

14 June 2024

The Maastricht definition of debt is total gross debt at nominal (face) value outstanding at the end of the year and consolidated between and within the sectors of general government. This definition is in accordance with Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2009 of 25 May 2009 on the application of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community.

General government gross debt is a key indicator of the government sector's financial position. Eurostat receives information on the structure of government debt by implementing surveys. The collected data allow for country comparisons and give some indication about the evolution of the components of the government debt over time.

The domain consists of six tables:

  • Central government debt;
  • State government debt;
  • Local government debt;
  • Social security funds debt;
  • General government debt;
  • Additional classifications of debt.

Data are also broken down by initial maturity, sector of debt holder, currency (domestic/foreign) and remaining maturity. Apparent cost of debt and market value of debt are collected additionally.

Furthermore, data on government guarantees is provided (contingent liabilities not included in general government gross debt).

Data are available in the following units: millions of national currency, millions of euro, percentage of GDP and percentage of total debt. GDP is gross domestic product at current market prices, as defined in ESA2010 (B.1*g) and as supplied in the April 2024 EDP notification. For remaining maturity of debt, the average remaining maturity is additionally presented. For apparent cost of debt, the data is presented as a ratio (accrued interest expenditure as a percentage of the average debt over the year).

For euro area countries, for reference periods prior to accession of the country to the euro area, data in national currency are expressed in euro-fixed, that is the former national currency divided by the irrevocable exchange rate.

Institutional units and groupings of units as defined in ESA 2010.

General Government sector (S.13).

EU Member States and Norway.

The reference period is the end of the previous four calendar years.

Not available.

Data are available in the following units: national currency, euro, percentage of GDP and percentage of total debt.

GDP is gross domestic product at current market prices, as defined in ESA2010 (B.1*g) and reflects the latest GDP supplied by EU Member States in the April 2024 EDP Notification and by Norway in the ESA national accounts transmission programme.

Sector and instrument breakdowns are in accordance with ESA 2010. Valuation is at nominal (face) value. Foreign currency debt is converted into national currency using end-year market exchange rates.

Ratios as a percentage of GDP are based on annual GDP data transmitted to Eurostat in the context of the April 2024 EDP Notification.

European aggregates are based on the sum of the individual country data. For series transmitted in national currencies other than euro, the data are converted by Eurostat into euro using end-year exchange rates.

For euro area countries data in million of national currency for the period preceding the accession is converted using euro-fixed exchange rates.

Data are the result of debt surveys conducted on a regular basis since 2003.


Respondents of the survey: compilers of GFS statistics in National Statistical Offices, Ministries of Finance and/or National Central Banks reply to the survey. Source data are mainly from government administrative records. GDP as supplied in the April 2024 EDP Notification.

General government gross debt is a key indicator of the general government sector's financial position. Eurostat receives information on the structure of government debt by implementing surveys. The collected data allow for country comparisons and give some indication about the evolution of the components of the government debt over time.

Annual. When revisions occur, data is updated.

The debt questionnaire is launched once per year. There is no legal deadline, although countries are asked to send data before a given time.

Data are generally comparable across countries.

Foreign currency breakdown: hedged foreign currency amounts to national currency are reported under domestic currency. A small number of countries may report the stock of foreign currency debt at nominal value, implying a small distortion in the shares of domestic and foreign currency.

The general government gross debt largely corresponds to the totals transmitted in the context of the April 2024 EDP notification, with some data updates since explaining any differences.

The coverage of guarantees may also vary between countries.

Data are fully comparable over time.

For all contingent liabilties, coverage may be expanding over time.