The effect of the economic and financial crisis on government revenue and expenditure

In the European Union, the compilation of government revenue and expenditure data is well established by reference to the European System of Accounts (ESA95). This publication focuses on the developments in annual data in the context of the economic and financial crisis, examining the finances of EU governments over recent years. With the publication of 2010 general government revenue and expenditure data, the economic and financial crisis continues to show a strong impact on government revenue and expenditure, and consequently the deficit, as well as on the composition of revenue and expenditure. In 2010, total general government expenditure stood at 50.3% of GDP in the EU-27 while total general government revenue fell to 44.0% of GDP, which produced a deficit of 6.4% of GDP.