UK Government Borrowing As % Of GDP Is Now Over 100%
UK Finances March 2021
UK general government gross debt was £2,223.0 billion at the end of the financial year ending March 2021, equivalent to 103.6% of gross domestic product (GDP).
UK general government deficit (or net borrowing) was £323.9 billion in the financial year ending March 2021, equivalent to 15.1% of GDP.
Public Section Finances To August 2021
Public sector net borrowing (excluding public sector banks, PSNB ex) was estimated to have been £20.0 billion in August 2021; this was the second-highest August borrowing since monthly records began in 1993, but £5.7 billion less than in August 2020.
Central government receipts in August 2021 were estimated to have been £61.2 billion, £5.3 billion more than in August 2020, while central government bodies spent £79.6 billion in August 2021, £1.0 billion less than in August 2020.
Public sector net borrowing (PSNB ex) was estimated to have been £91.3 billion in the financial year-to-August 2021; this was the second highest financial year-to-August borrowing since monthly records began in 1993, £89.5 billion less than in the same period last year.
Public sector net borrowing (PSNB ex) was estimated to have been £320.5 billion in the financial year ending March 2021, an increase of £22.5 billion compared with our previous estimate; largely as a result of recording, for the first time, expected expenditure of £20.9 billion on calls under the government loan guarantee schemes.
Public sector net debt (excluding public sector banks, PSND ex) was £2,202.9 billion at the end of August 2021 or around 97.6% of GDP, the highest ratio since the 98.3% recorded in March 1963.
Central government net cash requirement (excluding UK Asset Resolution Ltd and Network Rail) was £8.5 billion in August 2021, £13.2 billion less than in August 2020, bringing the total for the financial year-to-August 2021 to £84.0 billion.
The Impact Of Coronavirus On Public Finances
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a substantial impact on the economy and on public sector borrowing and debt.
Central government tax and National Insurance receipts combined in the financial year ending (FYE) 2021 were £670.8 billion, a fall of £32.5 billion, compared with the same period a year earlier. Government support for individuals and businesses during the coronavirus pandemic contributed to an increase of £204.4 billion in central government day-to-day (or current) spending, bringing the total to £942.5 billion.
As a result of these low receipts and high expenditure, provisional estimates indicate that in FYE 2021, the public sector borrowed £320.5 billion. This is equivalent to 15.3% of the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP), the highest such ratio since the end of World War Two, when it was 22.4% in FYE 1945.
Government Borrowing
The public sector spent more than it received in taxes and other income in August 2021, requiring it to borrow £20.0 billion, the second-highest August borrowing on record.
The public sector borrowed £91.3 billion in the financial year-to-August 2021, £89.5 billion less than in the same period a year earlier.
Official forecasts suggest that borrowing may reach £233.9 billion by the end of the financial year ending (FYE) 2022, £86.6 billion less than the £320.5 billion borrowed in the FYE 2021.
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