The United Kingdom recorded a Government Budget deficit equal to 4.80 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2024. This dataset provides - United Kingdom Government Budget - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

The government of the United Kingdom borrowed approximately ****percent worth of its GDP in the 2024/25 financial year, compared with ****percent in 2023/24. In 2020/21, government borrowing reached *****percent of GDP, due to increased financial support to public services during the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with reduced revenue because of societal lockdowns.

The budget deficit in the United Kingdom was **** billion British pounds in November 2021, compared with ** billion pounds in the same month of 2020.

Key information about UK Consolidated Fiscal Balance: % of GDP

• United Kingdom Consolidated Fiscal Balance recorded a deficit equal to 5.3 % of its Nominal GDP in Sep 2024, compared with a deficit equal to 5.9 % in the previous quarter
• UK Consolidated Fiscal Balance to GDP data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1987 to Sep 2024, with an average ratio of -3.5 %
• The data reached an all-time high of 2.2 % in Jun 2000 and a record low of -25.6 % in Jun 2020

• In the latest reports, UK National Government Debt reached 3,810.9 USD bn in Sep 2024
• UK Nominal GDP reached 786.4 USD bn in Mar 2023

Government debt in the United Kingdom reached over 2.8 trillion British pounds in 2024/25, compared with 2.69 trillion pounds in the previous financial year. Although debt has been increasing throughout this period, there is a noticeable jump between 2019/20, and 2020/21, when debt increased from 1.82 trillion pounds, to 2.15 trillion. The UK's government debt was the equivalent of 95.8 percent of GDP in 2024/25, and is expected to increase slightly in coming years, and not start falling until the end of this decade. Public finances in a tight spot With government debt approaching 100 percent of GDP, the UK finds itself in a tricky fiscal situation. If the UK can't reduce it's spending, or increase its revenue, the government will have to continue borrowing large amounts, increasing the debt further. Adding to the problem, is the fact that financing this debt has got steadily more expensive recently, with the government currently spending more on debt interest than it does on defence, transport, and public order and safety. Can the UK grow out its debt? After the Second World War, when the national debt reached over 250 percent of GDP, the UK managed to reduce its debt-to-GDP ratio, due to the economy growing faster than its debt over a long period of time. This is certainly the hope of the current Labour government, who are seeking to avoid significant tax and spending adjustments by strengthening the economy. Overdue investments in infrastructure and increased capital spending may eventually achieve this goal, but the government's declining popularity suggests they may not be in power by the time these policies might eventually bear fruit.

Public sector net debt amounted to 95.8 percent of gross domestic product in the United Kingdom during the 2024/25 financial year, or 90 percent when the Bank of England is excluded. UK government debt is at its highest levels since the early 1960s, due to a significant increase in borrowing during the COVID-19 pandemic. After peaking at 251.7 percent shortly after the end of the Second World War, government debt in the UK gradually fell, before a sharp increase in the late 2000s at the time of the global financial crisis. Debt not expected to start falling until 2029/30 In 2024/25, the UK's government expenditure was approximately 1.28 trillion pounds, around 44.7 percent of GDP. This spending was financed by 1.13 trillion pounds of revenue raised, and 151 billion pounds of borrowing. Although the UK government can still borrow money in the future to finance its spending, the amount spent on debt interest has increased significantly recently. Recent forecasts suggest that while the debt is eventually expected to start declining, this is based on falling government deficits in the next five years. Government facing hard choices Hitting fiscal targets, such as reducing the national debt, will require a careful balancing of the books from the current government, and the possibility for either spending cuts or tax rises. Although Labour ruled out raising the main government tax sources, Income Tax, National Insurance, and VAT, at the 2024 election, they did raise National Insurance for employers (rather than employees) and also cut Winter Fuel allowances for large numbers of pensioners. Less than a year after implementing cuts to Winter Fuel, the government performed a U-Turn on the issue, and will make it widely available by the winter of 2025.

As of November 2021, the cumulative public sector budget deficit in the United Kingdom for the 2021/22 financial year stood at 106.2 billion British pounds, compared with 207.4 billion pounds in the same month of the 2020/21 financial year.

This statistic shows the national debt of the United Kingdom from 2020 to 2024, with projections up until 2030. In 2024, the national debt in the United Kingdom was about 3.91 trillion U.S. dollars. Reduction of the national debt and recovery of the economy in the UK The debt of the United Kingdom, which amounted to around 1,600 billion pounds in 2014 - more than it has ever been - is projected to keep rising. Since the economic recession of 2007-08, economic growth in the United Kingdom has been slow, but it has been able to recover. In 2014, the United Kingdom recorded a 2.8 percent growth rate. Many believe that if the economy is stable, the government will reduce spending and not accrue any more debt, and it can indeed be seen that while government spending continues to increase, the gap between spending and revenue is projected to get smaller. If the government were to earn more than it spends, it could use the money left over to pay the national debt and start to reduce it. However, what is even more important is the size of the debt in relation to the size of the country's economy; if the debt grows slower than the economy, the debt to GDP ratio can still fall, despite a budget deficit. The ratio of government expenditure to GDP indicates that the economy is recovering at a faster rate than government expenditure, with the ratio decreasing significantly over the last decade and the national debt in relation to GDP being expected to decrease further as well - albeit slowly. This should help relieve concerns over the United Kingdom’s mounting debt, but for some debt reduction is just not fast enough.

Key information about UK Consolidated Fiscal Balance

• United Kingdom Consolidated Fiscal Balance recorded a deficit equal to 36.947 USD bn in Dec 2024, compared with a deficit equal to 18.009 USD bn in the previous quarter.
• UK Consolidated Fiscal Balance data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 1957 to Dec 2024, with an average ratio of -822.013 USD mn.
• The data reached an all-time high of 33.132 USD bn in Mar 2024 and a record low of -138.132 USD bn in Jun 2020.

The United Kingdom: Fiscal balance, percent of GDP: The latest value from 2023 is -5.41 percent, a decline from -5.35 percent in 2022. In comparison, the world average is -2.83 percent, based on data from 143 countries. Historically, the average for the United Kingdom from 1960 to 2023 is -3.05 percent. The minimum value, -15.31 percent, was reached in 2020 while the maximum of 1.92 percent was recorded in 1970.

Public sector net fiscal balance for each country and region of the UK.

European Union General Government Balance: % of GDP: EU 27 excl UK data was reported at -3.200 % in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of -3.500 % for 2023. European Union General Government Balance: % of GDP: EU 27 excl UK data is updated yearly, averaging -2.550 % from Dec 1997 (Median) to 2024, with 28 observations. The data reached an all-time high of -0.400 % in 2018 and a record low of -6.700 % in 2020. European Union General Government Balance: % of GDP: EU 27 excl UK data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Eurostat. The data is categorized under Global Database’s European Union – Table EU.F008: Eurostat: General Government: Percentage of GDP: ESA 2010.

This dataset provides values for GOVERNMENT DEBT TO GDP reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

European Union General Govt: Balance: EU 27 excl UK (EU 27E) data was reported at -568,072.500 EUR mn in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of -595,476.800 EUR mn for 2023. European Union General Govt: Balance: EU 27 excl UK (EU 27E) data is updated yearly, averaging -244,546.850 EUR mn from Dec 1995 (Median) to 2024, with 30 observations. The data reached an all-time high of -54,049.900 EUR mn in 2018 and a record low of -907,309.300 EUR mn in 2020. European Union General Govt: Balance: EU 27 excl UK (EU 27E) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Eurostat. The data is categorized under Global Database’s European Union – Table EU.F001: Eurostat: General Government Revenue and Expenditure: ESA 2010.