The total debt of the public administrations rose by 8.2% in July in comparison with the same month of the previous year, as a consequence of the greater expenditure derived from the coronavirus crisis. This increase adds up to almost €100 billion more in the last year, according to the data published on Thursday by the Bank of Spain.
Only in the month of July it increased by €1,307 million, 0.1% more than the figure for June, and therefore it once again reached a new all-time high over €1,29 Tr.
Therefore, the public debt remains above 100% of the GDP (close to 104%), a number that was already exceeded in May.
According to the Bank of Spain’s estimates, in the most moderate scenario of a fall in the economic activity, the public debt ratio will rise to around 116.8% of GDP this year, while in the most adverse scenario it could reach 120.6% of GDP.
Public debt closed 2019 at €1.18 trillion, the equivalent of 95.5% of GDP, below the government’s target of 95.9%. For 2020, the government set a goal of reducing it to 94.65% of GDP, which however, has been updated to 115.5% of GDP as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.
