HELSINKI, April 22 (XINHUA) -- Finland's general government finances deteriorated in 2024, breaching European Union (EU) limits on deficit and debt, Statistics Finland said in a press release published on Tuesday.
According to preliminary data, Finland's general government deficit stood at 4.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024, while debt under the excessive deficit procedure (EDP) reached 82.1 percent of GDP by the end of 2024. Both figures exceeded the EU thresholds of three percent for deficits and 60 percent for debt, as set out in the bloc's Stability and Growth Pact.
The general government deficit - or net borrowing - amounted to 12.2 billion euros (13.05 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024, marking a year-on-year deterioration of 4 billion euros.
Most of the debt increase stemmed from the central government, which added 14 billion euros in new debt, while local government debt grew by 1.8 billion euros.
To balance the public finances, the current government, led by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, has introduced spending cuts and tax rises since taking office in June 2023. The government has pledged to save approximately 9 billion euros with fiscal consolidation measures during its term.
So far, the consolidation measures have included cuts to healthcare and education budgets and increasing the standard value-added tax rate to 25.5 percent from 24 percent. (1 euro = 1.07 U.S. dollars)
