Public expenditure; transactions and government sectors

This table provides data on general government expenditure. General government expenditure consists of intermediate consumption, compensation of employees, interest paid, social benefits and (purchased) in kind transfers, subsidies paid, other current expenditure and other capital expenditure. The terms used are in line with the National Accounts. The national accounts are based on the international definitions of the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010). The transaction moment determines the moment of booking. The data presented are in line with the publications on the National Accounts. There may be small temporary differences with the publications of the National Accounts because the published figures of government accounts are sometimes more up-to-date. The data in this table are consolidated, i.e. elimination of flows between them. As a result, the expenditure and revenue of the subsectors do not add to total expenditure and revenue of general government. Payments from, for example, the State to the municipalities are part of the government’s expenditure and revenue. They do not count towards the expenditure and income of general government, since they are payments from general government to general government. Data available from: Annual figures from 1995, quarterly figures from 1999. Status of the figures: The figures in this table have final status for the period 1995-2018. The quarters of 2019 have the status provisionally. The annual figures for 2019 have the status definitively. The 2020 and 2021 figures have provisional status. Changes as of 25 March 2022: Figures for the fourth quarter of 2021 and the year 2021 are available. In addition, figures for 2020 and the first three quarters of 2021 have been adjusted. The adjustments for 2020 have not yet been included in the National Accounts. As a result, the data are temporarily not fully aligned with the publications of the National Accounts. Figures for 2020 have been adjusted, in particular as a result of up-to-date information on coronavirus support measures. The changes are explained in a news release on 25 March 2022. Grants other than on production (D39), benefits in kind (D632) and current intra-government transfers (D73) have been adjusted. The figures for public finances and national accounts are in full line with the next publication date, as of 24 June 2022. When will there be new figures? The first figures for the most recent quarter are published three months after the end of a quarter. The first quarter may then be adjusted in September, the second quarter in December and the first three quarters in March. The first annual figures shall be published three months after the end of the reporting year. The annual figures are then revised twice: six and eighteen months after the end of the reporting year. In addition, interim updates may take place in order to provide the European Commission with the most up-to-date public data at the end of March and the end of September. The data for the quarters are linked to the adjusted annual figures. The updated annual and quarterly figures are published at the end of June each year. Information on the revision policy of National Accounts can be found under paragraph 3 ‘relevant articles’.