Netherlands’ public debt falls to €475b in H1 – CBS

The Netherlands’ public debt decreased by nearly €6 billion in the first half of 2024, reaching €475 billion ($529 billion), according to latest data showed by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) on Monday.

This brings the debt-to-GDP ratio to 43.2 per cent, nearly 2 percentage points lower than at the end of 2023.

A surplus of €8 billion in the first half – higher than the surplus of nearly €3 billion over the same period in 2023 – contributed to this reduction.

The government balance and the debt-to-GDP ratio are key indicators for the state of public finances in a country. The European convergence criteria allow a maximum deficit of 3 percent of GDP a year, and a maximum debt level of 60 percent of GDP as at the end of that year.

Attribution: Statistics Netherlands (CBS)