1. Main points
UK general government gross debt was £2,537.0 billion at the end of Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2023, equivalent to 100.5% of gross domestic product (GDP).
UK general government deficit (or net borrowing) was £24.4 billion in Quarter 1 2023, equivalent to 3.8% of GDP.
The general government gross debt and deficit figures published here (for 1997 onwards) are fully consistent with those published in our Public sector finances, UK: May 2023 statistical bulletin, published on 21 June 2023.
In this release, we present statistics for the general government sector. These are used for international comparisons and include central and local government only. The public sector finances release has a wider scope, adding data for other public sector bodies, including public corporations, public sector pensions and the Bank of England.
2. Government debt
| Quarter | Q2 2021 | Q3 2021 | Q4 2021 | Q1 2022 | Q2 2022 | Q3 2022 | Q4 2022 | Q1 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debt (£ billion)¹ | 2,318.6 | 2355.1 | 2,404.8 | 2,387.4 | 2,436.3 | 2,445.2 | 2,516.0 | 2,537.6 |
| Debt (as % GDP)² | 106.8 | 106.2 | 105.9 | 102.1 | 101.9 | 99.9 | 101.0 | 100.5 |
Download this table Table 1: General government gross debt, UK, at the end of Quarter 2 (June) 2021 to the end of Quarter 1 (March) 2023
.xls .csv
Figure 1: Debt as a percentage of GDP in Quarter 1 2023 was 1.6 percentage points less than in Quarter 1 2022
General government gross debt as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), UK, at the end of Quarter 1 (March) 2020 to the end of Quarter 1 (March) 2023
Source: UK government debt and deficit from the Office for National Statistics
Notes:
Debt is recorded as at the end of each calendar quarter.
GDP is gross domestic product.
Debt definition is consistent with the 2010 European system of national and regional accounts (ESA 2010) (PDF, 6.558MB) and the Manual on Government Deficit and Debt (MGDD).
Download this chart Figure 1: Debt as a percentage of GDP in Quarter 1 2023 was 1.6 percentage points less than in Quarter 1 2022
Image .csv .xlsFinancial year and calendar year data for general government debt can be found in our government deficit and debt return.
Latest comparison with the EU member states
Figure 2: At 100.5% of GDP, UK general government gross debt at the end of Quarter 1 2023 was 16.8 percentage points above the EU average
General government gross debt as a percentage of GDP, UK and EU member states, at the end of Quarter 1 (March) 2023
Source: UK government debt and deficit from the Office for National Statistics, Eurostat
Notes:
GDP is gross domestic product.
EU 27 is the average of the 27 EU member states.
Debt definition is consistent with the 2010 European system of national and regional accounts (ESA 2010) (PDF, 6.558MB) and the Manual on Government Deficit and Debt (MGDD).
Download this chart Figure 2: At 100.5% of GDP, UK general government gross debt at the end of Quarter 1 2023 was 16.8 percentage points above the EU average
Image .csv .xlsLatest comparison with G7 member states
Figure 3: At 101.0% of GDP, UK general government gross debt at the end of December 2022 was 27.4 percentage points lower than the G7 average
General government gross debt as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), at the end of December 2022, UK, EU average and G7 member states
Source: Office for National Statistics, International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook April 2023
Notes:
GDP is gross domestic product.
EU 27 is the average of the 27 EU member states.
Group of Seven (G7) is the average of the Group of Seven member states.
Debt is recorded at the end of December of each calendar year.
The latest available data for all G7 member countries.
6. Countries' debt definitions vary based on which framework they follow, which are outlined in World Economic Outlook Statistical Appendix (PDF, 667KB).
Download this chart Figure 3: At 101.0% of GDP, UK general government gross debt at the end of December 2022 was 27.4 percentage points lower than the G7 average
Image .csv .xlsAn international comparison of general government gross debt as a percentage of GDP can be found in our general government debt and deficit as percentage of GDP - Annex A.
Back to table of contents3. Government deficit
| Quarter | Q2 2021 | Q3 2021 | Q4 2021 | Q1 2022 | Q2 2022 | Q3 2022 | Q4 2022 | Q1 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deficit (£ billion) | -65.5 | -40.1 | -28.6 | -5.1 | -41.9 | -26.1 | -43.6 | -24.4 |
| Deficit (as % GDP) | -11.7 | -7.1 | -4.8 | -0.8 | -6.8 | -4.2 | -6.8 | -3.8 |
Download this table Table 2: General government deficit, UK, Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2021 to Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2023
.xls .csv
Figure 4: Deficit as a percentage of GDP in Quarter 1 2023 was 3.0 percentage points higher than Quarter 1 2022
General government deficit (net borrowing) as a percentage of GDP, UK, Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2020 to Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2023
Source: UK government debt and deficit from the Office for National Statistics
Notes:
GDP is gross domestic product.
Negative values indicates borrowing while positive values indicates a surplus.
Download this chart Figure 4: Deficit as a percentage of GDP in Quarter 1 2023 was 3.0 percentage points higher than Quarter 1 2022
Image .csv .xlsFinancial year and calendar year data for general government deficit can be found in our government debt and deficit return.
Latest comparison with the EU member states
Figure 5: UK general government deficit in Quarter 1 2023 was 0.2 percentage points lower than the EU average
General government deficit (net borrowing) as a percentage of GDP, UK and EU member states, Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2023
Source: UK government debt and deficit from the Office for National Statistics, Eurostat
Notes:
GDP is gross domestic product.
EU 27 is the average of the 27 EU member states
Negative values indicate borrowing while positive values indicate a surplus.
Download this chart Figure 5: UK general government deficit in Quarter 1 2023 was 0.2 percentage points lower than the EU average
Image .csv .xlsLatest comparison with G7 member states
Figure 6: UK general government deficit in 2022 was 0.7 percentage points lower than the G7 average
General government deficit as a percentage of GDP, 2022 calendar year, UK, EU and G7 member states
Source: Office for National Statistics, International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook April 2023
Notes:
GDP is gross domestic product.
Calendar year represents the period of January to December.
EU 27 is the average of the 27 EU member states.
Group of Seven (G7) is the average of the Group of Seven member states.
The latest available data for all G7 member states.
Negative values indicates borrowing while positive values indicates a surplus.
Download this chart Figure 6: UK general government deficit in 2022 was 0.7 percentage points lower than the G7 average
Image .csv .xlsAn international comparison of general government deficit as a percentage of GDP can be found in our general government debt and deficit as percentage of GDP - Annex A.
Back to table of contents4. UK government debt and deficit data
General government debt and deficit as percentage of GDP: Annex A
Dataset | Released 31 July 2023
International comparison of general government debt and deficit as percentage of GDP.
Government debt and deficit data
Dataset | Released 31 July 2023
Summary, reconciliation, and revisions information on UK government deficit and debt figures by calendar year, financial year and quarterly intervals, since the last publication.
General government main aggregates: ESA Table 2
Dataset | Released 31 July 2023
Breakdown of general government expenditure (both current and capital) and general government revenue, compiled according to the European System of Accounts.
General government quarterly non-financial accounts: ESA Table 25
Dataset | Released 31 July 2023
Breakdown of general government expenditure (both current and capital) and general government revenue, compiled according to the European System of Accounts.
General government quarterly financial accounts: ESA Table 27
Dataset | Released 31 July 2023
Complete set of quarterly financial accounts of the general government sector and its sub-sectors, compiled according to the European System of Accounts.
General government quarterly debt (Maastricht debt): ESA Table 28
Dataset | Released 31 July 2023
Summary of government debt on a quarterly basis, for general government and its sub-sectors, compiled according to the European System of Accounts.
5. Glossary
General government
UK general government consists of two sub-sectors: central government and local government.
Debt
Debt represents the cumulative amount the general government sector owes to organisations in other UK sectors and overseas institutions, which is largely a result of government financial liabilities on the bonds (gilts) and Treasury bills it has issued.
Deficit
Deficit (or net borrowing) measures the gap between total revenue and total spending. Following international convention, in this publication a negative value indicates borrowing while a positive value indicates a surplus. However, in the UK monthly public sector finance publication this is presented in reverse, where a negative value indicates a deficit.
Back to table of contents6. Measuring the data
Our UK government debt and deficit statistical bulletin is published quarterly in January, April, July and October each year. This coincides with the publication of equivalent data for EU member states.
Revisions since previous publication
The revisions between releases are usually the result of improved departmental (and other government bodies') data replacing previous estimates.
Our Government debt and deficit return table presents the revisions to our main aggregates since the last publication of the UK government debt and deficit return (published on 28 April 2023). These revisions are consistent with revisions incorporated within our May 2023 Public sector finances statistical bulletin.
Our public sector finances revisions policy provides information on when users of the statistics published in the Public sector finances and in our UK government debt and deficit statistical bulletins should expect to see methodological and data-related revisions.
Back to table of contents7. Strengths and limitations
To supplement this release, we publish an accompanying methodological guide and Quality and Methodology Information outlining the strengths, limitations, and appropriate uses of government finance statistics.
Comparability with monthly public sector finances
The general government debt and deficit figures published in this statistical bulletin (for the time period 1997 onwards) are fully consistent with those published in our Public sector finances, UK: May 2023 statistical bulletin on 21 June 2023.
There are two main differences between the headline debt and deficit measures published in the public sector finances and those published in this bulletin.
Firstly, this bulletin includes only the debt and deficit of central and local government bodies. The public sector finances' measures also include the debt and deficit of other public sector bodies, including public non-financial corporations and the Bank of England.
Secondly, this bulletin reports gross debt, while the focus of the public sector finances is net debt. Gross debt represents only the financial liabilities (debt securities, loans and deposits) of central and local government, while net debt deducts any liquid assets (official reserve assets and other cash or cash-like assets) from these financial liabilities.
Comparability with gross domestic product (GDP)
GDP data at market prices used to calculate government gross debt and deficit as a ratio of GDP are fully consistent with those published in our GDP quarterly national accounts, UK: January to March 2023 on 30 June 2023.
Comparability with EU member states
The general government debt and deficit figures used in the comparison of each of the 27 member states are fully consistent with those published in the Eurostat Government Finance Statistics - quarterly data: Quarter 1 2023 on 21 July 2023.
Comparability with G7 member states
The general government debt and deficit figures used in the comparison of G7 member states are fully consistent with those published in the International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook on 11 April 2023.
Back to table of contents9. Cite this statistical bulletin
Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 31 July 2023, ONS website, statistical bulletin, UK government debt and deficit: March 2023