Malta's debt stood at almost €8.3 billion at the end of 2021, increasing by €1.3 billion in a year, according to the National Statistics Office.

Financing COVID-19 measures and increases in loans are some of the reasons for the increase in general government debt, which now stands at 57% of gross domestic product. 

The statistics show the impact of the pandemic on the national purse, with debt amounting to just over €5.7 billion at the end of 2019, rising to almost €7 billion by the end of 2020 and increasing to almost €8.3 billion by last year.

The NSO said the financial corporations sector held the biggest share of the government’s debt at almost 59% of the total.

Debt securities, which include government stocks and treasury bills, comprised more than €6.8 billion, or around 83%, of the total debt in 2021.

Other debt instruments are loans and currency, comprising 10.5% and 6.9% respectively.

The increase reported under debt securities (almost €900 million) mainly relates to the continued financing of the government’s COVID-19 measures, while the increases in loans (over €300 million) and currency (almost €100 million) mainly represent additional EU loans from the temporary support to mitigate unemployment risks in an emergency instrument and an issuance of the 62+ Malta Government Savings Bonds, respectively.

Almost all the debt owed by the general government sector is in national currency.

The stock of debt in foreign currencies has decreased considerably over the years.

The apparent cost of debt, which is the interest rate applicable to the whole nominal debt, was slightly over 2% in 2021, compared to almost 4% in 2018.

For 2021, the market value of the total general government debt is estimated at more than €9billion, compared to the nominal value of €8.3 billion.

Government guarantees on borrowing amounted to almost €1.2 billion in 2021, or just over 8% of GDP, an increase of €30 million over 2020.

The majority of government guarantees are issued towards the non-financial corporations sector, which accounts for more than 60% of the total guarantees.