UK government debt and deficit: December 2023

• UK general government gross debt was £2,720.8 billion at the end of Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2023, equivalent to 101.3% of gross domestic product (GDP).

• UK general government deficit (or net borrowing) was £40.8 billion in Quarter 4 2023, equivalent to 6.0% 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: February 2024 statistical bulletin, published on 21 March 2024.

Change to this release

This release has been discontinued, with the last planned release on 30 April 2024. The latest UK government debt and deficit datasets will be included quarterly within the Public Sector Finances, UK bulletin, starting from June 2024. The datasets will be released within the months of March, June, September, and December each year.

The decision to unify UK government debt and deficit and public sector finance statistics into a single release was made as part of a wider ONS review of our outputs. Contact public.sector.inquiries@ons.gov.uk with any questions or feedback.

Latest comparison with Group of Seven member states

The data for the Group of Seven (G7) countries are published within the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) World Economic outlook twice a year, in April and October. The latest available data compare debt at the end of 2023.

Latest comparison with Group of Seven member states

The data for the (Group of Seven) G7 countries are published within the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic outlook twice a year, in April and October. The latest available data compare the deficit in 2023.

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.

Our UK government debt and deficit statistical bulletin is published quarterly in January, April, July and October each year.

From June 2024, the UK government debt and deficit statistical bulletin will no longer be published. However, the data tables within this publication will be released within the public sector finances statistical bulletin on a quarterly basis in the months of March, June, September and December.

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 31 January 2024). These revisions are consistent with revisions incorporated within our February 2024 Public sector finances statistical bulletin.

Our public sector finances revisions policy provides information on when users of the statistics published in our Public sector finances and UK government debt and deficit statistical bulletins should expect to see methodological and data-related revisions.

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: February 2024 statistical bulletin on 21 March 2024.

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

Gross domestic product (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: October to December 2023 on 28 March 2023.

Comparability with Group of Seven member states

The general government debt and deficit figures used in the comparison of Group of Seven (G7) member states are fully consistent with those published in the International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook on 16 April 2024.