Landshagir - 01.12.2015, Page 277

Public finance
LANDSHAGIR 2015 STATISTICAL YEARBOOK OF ICELAND 2015
12
275
Statistics Iceland compiles the annual
general government, central govern-
ment, and local government statistics,
on an accrual basis, in the context of the
national accounts based on the ESA2010
and the ESA2010 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 (ESA2010) and the Classification
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.
General Government deficit 1.2 billion in 2014
In 2014, the financial balance of the general
government was 1.2 billion ISK in deficit
or 0.1% of GDP, compared with a deficit of
1.9% of GDP for 2013. The reduced deficit
in 2014 is explained by 14.0% increase in
revenue and 9.4% increase in expenditure.
The general government total revenue
amounted to 45.6% of GDP in 2014 while
its total expenditure amounted to 45.7% of
GDP.
The general government net financial
assets, i.e. financial assets less liabilities,
were negative by 1,000 billion ISK in 2014
or 50.3 of GDP, declining by 29.6 billion ISK
from 2013. The general government total
financial assets amounted to 1,291 billion
ISK at the end of 2014 and the total liabili-
ties, 2,291 billion ISK.
The total expenditure on health was 8.9%
of GDP in 2014
In 2014, the total expenditure on health
was 8.9% of GDP, of which 81.0% was
financed by the general government and
the rest by the private sector. The health
expenditure per capita was 436 thousand
ISK in 2014 and has decreased by 10.3% in
real terms since 2008.
The total expenditure on education was 8.0%
of GDP in 2014
The total expenditure on education was
158 billion ISK in 2014 or 8.0% of GDP, of
which 90.6% was financed by the general
government. The public expenditure per
capita was 438 thousand ISK in 2014 and
has decreased by 11.2% from 2008 in 2014
prices.