The Hellenic Statistical Authority’s GDP “correction” for 2022 raises the general government deficit by 0.1% and the debt by 1.3 percentage points. Meanwhile, the general accounting office is also preparing adjustments to the 2024 budget.
The effects on deficit and debt from the “correction” (downward) of the GDP announced last week were recorded by the Hellenic Statistical Authority. The fact that the GDP is now estimated at 206.6 billion euros and not 208 billion euros as it was the initial estimate, affected the basic fiscal figures as well. The final data are as follows:
1. The ratio of debt (at general government level) to GDP for 2022 is 172.6% while the previous estimate (of April 2023) was 171.3%. In other words, there is an increase of 1.3 percentage points compared to the previous estimate for 2022, but also a very large decrease of 22.4 percentage points compared to 2021 (the debt-to-GDP ratio for this particular year was estimated at 195%).
2. The general government deficit increased by 0.1% compared to the previous estimate in April to stand at 2.4% (from 2.3% which was the previous estimate. This represents a significant de-escalation compared to 2021 (deficit of 7% compared to the previous estimate for a deficit of 7.1%) but also in relation to 2020 (-9.7% in relation to the previous estimate).
In the final draft budget that will be submitted to Parliament by November 21, the general accounting office will make the necessary adjustments after the 2022 GDP correction. For now, the changes required (in terms of GDP and debt-to-income ratio GDP is in the decimals, however corrections will be made at the last minute to see if further adjustments are needed taking into account developments in the Middle East.
