In the Q4 2021, the general government sector balance improved by CZK 32.3 bn, y-o-y, although all components of the general government ended up with a deficit. The highest contribution to the year-on-year decrease was mainly thanks to the central government, the balance of which improved by CZK 32.5 bn and ended up with a deficit of CZK 77.0 bn. The local government sector balance ended up with a deficit of CZK 18.3 bn and social security funds ended up with a deficit of CZK 10.0 bn.

The general government sector balance, Q4 2019 – Q4 2021

Note: Data in the table are not seasonally adjusted and cannot be compared quarter-on-quarter.

The total government revenues increased by 2.0%, y-o-y. The y-o-y increase in revenues was mainly contributed to by an increase in revenues from taxes on production and imports (+11.8% to CZK 192.3 bn) and from social contributions (+5.5% to CZK 266.0 bn). A decrease was only recorded for taxes on income (−22.8% to CZK 105.4 bn).

The total government expenditure decreased by 2.5%, y-o-y. The following expenditure decreased the most: expenditure on subsidies (−28.7% to CZK 35.9 bn) and expenditure on capital transfers (−34.3% to CZK 10.2 bn).

The government debt ratio increased from 37.7% to 41.9% of the GDP, year-on-year, while the increasing nominal GDP contributed to a decrease in indebtedness by –2.6 p. p. The nominal debt of the general government increased by CZK 417.3 bn to CZK 2 566.6 bn and its contribution amounted to 6.8 p. p. In the quarter-on-quarter comparison, the debt ratio increased by 1.5 p. p. The nominal debt increased by CZK 133.3 bn, q-o-q, and contributed to the increase of the debt ratio by 2.2 p. p., whereas an increase in the nominal GDP contributed to a decrease by –0.7 p. p..

Regarding the debt structure, mainly the following increased, year-on-year: issued debt securities (CZK +346.1 bn) and the volume of received loans (CZK +66.0 bn). Issued debt securities continue to be the main debt component.

Debt of the general government sector, Q4 2019 – Q4 2021

The general government sector balance after seasonal adjustment as well as adjustment for calendar effects ended up with a deficit of CZK 79.4 bn, which corresponded to 5.1% of GDP. The general government sector balance improved by CZK 8.9 bn, q-o-q. The development of the general government sector balance adjusted by seasonal and calendar effects is shown in the chart below.

Seasonally adjusted general government sector balance, Q4 2019 – Q4 2021

The government surplus/deficit is represented by the item B.9 “net borrowing (−) or net lending (+)” in the system of national accounts. It refers to the ability of the general government sector to finance other sectors of the economy (+) or the need of the general government sector to be financed (−) by other sectors of the economy in the given period.

The general government debt is the amount of consolidated liabilities of the general government sector comprising the following items: received deposits, issued debt securities, and received loans. In case of foreign exchange debt instruments hedged against the currency risk, the value in CZK is obtained by means of the contractual exchange rate.

The general government sector balance is compared with the amount of the GDP in the given quarter at current prices. The amount of the consolidated general government debt is compared with the sum of quarterly GDP for the last four quarters at current prices. Fiscal indicators of quarterly government deficit and debt are published within the Transmission programme (Table 25 and Table 28) on the website www.czso.cz in the “GDP, National Accounts” section.
(http://apl.czso.cz/pll/rocenka/rocenka.indexnu_gov?mylang=EN)

Unless otherwise stated, data are not seasonally adjusted as well as they are not adjusted for calendar effects.