The deficit of the central and local government sector in 2023 is to reach 192 billion zlotys – according to a fiscal notification sent to Brussels by the Polish government. In nominal terms, this is a record figure. However, compared to the country’s GDP, there have been periods when the situation was worse. Here’s how it has looked recently.
The deficit of central and local government sector in Poland is to increase from 112.8 billion zlotys in 2022 to 192.1 billion zlotys in 2023 – according to a fiscal report sent by Poland to the EU, published by Eurostat.
The deficit of the central government institutions subsector is to reach 158.43 billion zlotys in 2023, against 98.863 billion in the previous year. The deficit of the local government institutions subsector for the current year is to amount to 18.826 billion zlotys, against 12.989 billion in 2022. The deficit of the social security funds subsector is to reach 14.853 billion zlotys, compared to 1.15 billion in 2022.
In the April’s notification, the planned deficit was 162.99 billion zlotys.
Record deficit
When it comes to nominal terms, 2023 will be a record year. According to Eurostat data, the previous highest deficit in Poland was recorded in the first year of the pandemic – in 2022, when it stood at 161.8 billion zlotys.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Poland had experienced the worst problems with budget deficit after the financial crisis of 2008 – in 2009 and 2010, when the debt reached 99.5 and 107.1 billion, respectively.
The lowest deficit Poland has recorded so far was in 2018, when it was only 5.3 billion zlotys.
Central and local government sector deficit
When it comes to the deficit of the central and local government sector compared to Poland’s GDP, the situation looks slightly different.
Looking at data since 2004, the year 2023 is to have only the fourth-largest deficit. The Polish government estimates in the fiscal notification that the deficit in relation to the GDP this year will reach approx. 5.6 percent.
The worst situation of the state budget deficit compared to the GDP in Poland was in 2010, when the figure was 7.5 percent, in 2009 – when it was at 7.3 percent, and in 2020 – 6.9 percent. The best situation, just like in the case of the budget deficit in nominal terms, was in 2018 – 0.2 percent.
State budget deficit for 2023
The deficit at the end of September stood at 34.7 billion zlotys - according to the finance ministry’s statement on the estimated execution of the state budget between January and September 2023. Back in July, when the government had published the last budgetary data before the parliamentary election, the figure stood at 13.1 billion zlotys.
The maximum state budget deficit, allowed by the amended budget law, is 92 billion zlotys.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, TVN24 Biznes
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