Government debt hits almost €11 billion as PN calls out 'alarming record'
‘Malta has never had this much debt’ - Shadow finance and economy ministers
Central government debt has now climbed to €10.884 billion, a year‑on‑year increase of €866.5 million, as Malta’s public finances recorded a €146.1 million deficit from January to May 2025, according to data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Friday.
The increased debt is largely driven by heightened issuance of government stocks (+€842.5 million) along with rises in Treasury bills and euro-coin circulation
While recurrent revenue rose by €108.2 million to reach €3.01 billion, total expenditure also rose even more sharply climbing €247 million to €3.16 billion.
In a statement reacting to the data, the Nationalist Party pointed out the national debt amounted to €2.4 million in new debt every single day.
“Malta has never had this much debt,” the PN said in a statement co-signed by Graham Bencini, shadow minister for Finance, and Jerome Caruana Cilia, shadow minister for the economy and enterprise.
They accused prime minster Robert Abela of being “responsible for half of all our national debt” as when he took over from his predecessor Joseph Muscat, Malta’s debt sood at just over €5 billion.
“In the last year alone, he increased the debt by €867 million – that’s almost €2.4 million in new debt every day,” the Opposition said.
The PN added that the “alarming increase in debt” is leading to higher interest payments paid by the government using taxpayers’ money. The interest on public debt totalled €117.8 million, up €14.8 million year‑on‑year.