Landshagir - 01.11.2012, Page 275

Public finance
LANDSHAGIR 2012 STATISTICAL YEARBOOK OF ICELAND 2012
15
275
Statistics Iceland compiles the annual
general government, central government,
and local government statistics, on an
accrual basis, in the context of the national
accounts based on the 1995 ESA and the
ESA95 Manual on Government Deficit and
Debt. The government sector comprises
those activities in the economy that are
mainly financed by tax revenue.
One of the main purposes of keeping
accounts of the general government is to
give an overview of its revenue, expendi-
ture, assets and liabilities and of its main
balances, i.e. the operating balance and net
lending/borrowing balance. The accounts
are produced in line with the IMF’s GFSM
2001 standard on the government finances
(The Government Finance Statistics
Manual, 2001), the European System of
Accounts from 1995 (ESA95) and the Clas-
sification of the Functions of Government
(COFOG) issued by the United Nations.
The accounts are produced for the general
government as well as for its subsectors,
i.e. budgetary central government, social
security funds and local governments.
The financial balance of the general
government was 88.5 billion ISK in deficit
In 2011, the financial balance of the general
government was 88.5 billion ISK in deficit
or 5.4% of GDP, which can be compared
with a deficit of 10% of GDP for 2010 or
deficit of 6.5% if called guarantees are
excluded. The reduced deficit in 2011 can be
explained by 6.8% increase in revenue and
2.8% decrease in expenditure. The general
government total revenue amounted to
41.9% of GDP in 2011, compared with 41.5%
in 2010 and 41.0% in 2009. The general
government total expenditure amounted
to 47.3% of GDP in 2011 compared with
51.5% in 2010 and 51.0% in 2009. By exclud-
ing called guarantees, the total expenditure
in 2011 increased by 0.8% of GDP.
The total expenditure on health was
9.1% of GDP
In 2011, the total expenditure on health
was 9.1% of GDP, of which 80.4% was
financed by the general government and
the rest by households. The health expen-
diture per capita was 372 thousand ISK in
2011 and has decreased by 45 thousand ISK
(2011 prices) since 2008 or by 11%.
The total expenditure on education was 128
billion ISK in 2011 or 7.9% of GDP, of which
90.6% was financed by the general govern-
ment. The expenditure per capita was 365
thousand ISK in 2011 and has decreased by
52 thousand ISK from 2008 in 2011 prices.
The total general government expenditure
on social protection in 2011 was 191 billion
ISK or 11.7% of GDP. In total, 57.6% of the
general government total expenditure goes
to these functions or 27.3% of GDP.
The general government net financial assets
were negative by 899 billion ISK in 2011
The general government net financial
assets, i.e. financial assets less liabilities,
were negative by 899 billion ISK in 2011
or 55.3% of GDP. The deterioration from
2010 is 159 billion ISK or 7.1% of GDP. The
general government total financial assets
amounted to 1,283 billion ISK at the end of
2011 and the total liabilities, 2,182 billion
ISK.