WIREDGOV

Latest figures

• The deficit (or net borrowing) of general government provides the measure of the gap between expenditure and receipts. While the debt provides a measure of the total owed by government. Under the Maastricht Treaty with the EU, the UK deficit should not exceed 3% of GDP and the UK debt should not exceed 60% of GDP.
• In the calendar year 2013 general government deficit was £92.9 billion or 5.8% of GDP, according to the definition used for comparability across the European Union. This was fourth consecutive fall in the deficit as a percentage of GDP.
• General government gross debt (nominal value) was £1,461 billion or 90.6% of GDP for the calendar year 2013. Since 2002, debt as a percentage of GDP has grown in each calendar year.
• In the financial year 2012/13 general government deficit (or net borrowing) was £81.8 billion, equivalent to 5.2% of gross domestic product (GDP).
• In the financial year 2012/13, general government gross consolidated debt (nominal value) was £1,386.7 billion, equivalent to 88.6% of GDP.
• General government deficit and debt estimates for the calendar year 2012 were affected by the transfer of the Royal Mail Pension Plan assets. This reduced the deficit by £28.0 billion and had the same impact on the financial year 2012/13. The asset purchase facility transfers from the Bank of England in the calendar year 2013 reduced the deficit by £18.6 billion (for the 2012/13 financial year the reduction was £6.4 billion).
• The statistics presented in this publication are consistent with the definitions used by the European Commission. They fulfil the legal requirement for the UK (and other EU Member States) to report actual and planned government deficit and debt.