Government finance

To carry out the analysis required for monetary policy, the ECB and the ESCB need comprehensive and reliable government finance statistics based on the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010).

Government finance statistics form an important part of the integrated system of sectoral non-financial and financial accounts. The data disseminated by the ECB provide a comprehensive overview of fiscal developments in the euro area, the European Union and individual EU Member States.

The fiscal dashboard below provides an example of how government finance statistics can be used to monitor fiscal trends in the EU. It covers the two main fiscal indicators: government debt and the government balance (deficit/surplus).

Data

Government finance time series data Release calendar for government finance statistics

Interactive reports

Annual and quarterly government finance statistics

• Revenue, expenditure and balance
• Transactions with the EU budget
• Debt
• Change in debt
• Loans, currency and deposits
• Expenditure by function

Monthly government debt securities statistics

• Debt securities, stocks and transactions
• Debt securities, nominal yields
• Debt securities, debt service

Sources and methods

The concepts and definitions used for government finance statistics are in line with the following international statistical standard:

European system of national and regional accounts (ESA 2010)

Legal basis

The legal basis for collecting annual government finance statistics is laid down in Guideline ECB/2025/9.