The general Government debt at the end of last year amounted to €4,871.2 million, or 72.1 per cent of GDP.

The National Statistics Office said the financial corporations sector had the biggest share of the debt, with 60.8 per cent.

The ‘securities other than shares’, which includes the Malta Government Stocks and Treasury Bills, is by far the preferred debt instrument for general Government, with €4,476.9 million or 91.9 per cent of the total debt in 2012.

Almost all the debt owed by the general Government sector is in national currency. The debt issued in foreign currencies is decreasing and in 2012 it amounted to €0.9 million. The apparent cost of debt, which is the interest rate applicable to the whole nominal debt, was 4.49 per cent in 2012, a marginal drop from 4.53 per cent in 2011.

Government guarantees on borrowing amounted to €1,186 million in 2012, an increase of €117.1 million over the comparative period in 2011. The majority of Government guarantees are issued towards the public non-financial corporations, which account for 77.9 per cent of the total guarantees.