The Accountant General's Office at the Finance Ministry published on Sunday its initial estimate of Israel's public debt as a proportion of the gross domestic product.
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The report said that the debt-to-GDP ratio rose from 60% at the end of 2019 to 73.1% at the end of 2020, adding that government debt is estimated at 71.6% of GDP.
The Accountant General's Office said that government spending rose by 78 billion shekels ($24 billion) in 2020 compared to 2019, while government revenues fell by NIS 29 billion ($8.85 billion).
The report noted that the figure was actually less than projected, citing the Bank of Israel's ability to buy bonds in the secondary market, and the appreciation of the shekel, which neutralizes most implication of a sharp rise in public debt, as the reasons.
The final figures for the debt-to-GDP ratio and broader analysis of government debt will be published next month.
Accountant General Yali Rothenberg told financial daily Globes: "The debt-to-GDP ratio rose last year as a result of the substantial growth in government activity and in the fiscal deficit in order to deal with the coronavirus crisis.
"This rise came after a decade in which the ratio gradually fell, by a cumulative 11%, reaching 60% in 2019. The rise in 2020 is less than expected, both because of the resilience of the economy, as seen in the figures for the fall in GDP, and also as a result of the effect of market factors on the debt figures," he said.
"We expect that the debt-to-GDP ratio will continue to rise in the next few years, but it is highly important that we should return to a decline in this ratio in the period following the economy's recovery from the crisis."
The data further shows that, compared to other countries, Israel's position is more than reasonable, and supports the recent decision by global credit rating agencies to affirm Israel's stable outlook.
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