Follow the real-time evolution of France’s public debt and other key figures of national accounting data: government budget deficit, social spending, public services, foreign trade, state burden and bureaucratic complexity, etc.
Public Debt
France national debt
All borrowings by general government
(state, central government agencies, local authorities and social security agencies)
Public debt increases by €5,136 per second.
Public debt/GDP
Public debt-to-GDP ratio (forecast for 2025)
0
.5%
113.2% in 2024, 118.1% in 2027 and 117.2% in 2029. France is the 3rd most indebted country in the EU, behind Greece (153.6%) and Italy (135.3%). EU average: 81.0%; euro zone average: 87.4%; Germany: 62.5%.
Public debt/capita
Public debt per inhabitant
Per capita debt increases by €8.38 every day, or €3,060 per year.
DEBT INTEREST PAYMENTS
State expenditure on interest payments on the public debt in 2025
58 billion in 2024. Interest on the debt is greater than the Defense budget (excluding pensions) and represents the second-largest State budget. Estimated amount at end 2025: €67 billion and €69.6 billion in 2027.
State Budget
public deficit
Projected balance of government expenditure and revenue in 2025
Expected deficit in 2025 of €139 billion (net revenues of €311 billion and net expenditure of €450 billion), following deficits of €168.6 billion in 2024 and €151.7 billion in 2023.
PUBLIC DEFICIT 2024
Balance of government expenditure and revenue
0
.6
billion €
a slippage of 21.7 billion (146.9 billion initially forecast in the Finance Act for 2024)
PUBLIC DEFICIT/GDP
(2024)
Balance of government expenditure and revenue as a percentage of GDP
0
.8%
compared with 4.4% initially forecast. EU average: 3.2%. Eurozone average: 3.1%. Germany: 2.8%. Italy: 3.4%. Greece: surplus of 1.3%; Portugal: surplus of 0.7%.
Public spending
PUBLIC SPENDING
Expenditure by the State, social security agencies, local authorities and related agencies and bodies
Public spending will continue to rise in 2025 to €1,695 billion. (+43 bn € in volume and +70 bn in value compared to 2024). This compares with €1,607.4 billion in 2023.
Social security deficit
Balance of all compulsory basic schemes and FSV (2025)
Projected deficit of €23 billion in 2025 and €24.1 billion in 2028 (after deficits of €15.3 billion in 2024 and €11.1 billion in 2023).
Social security debt
Amount of Social Security long-term debt carried by Caisse d’amortissement de la dette sociale (Cades)
143.4 billion in 2024. Forecast to end 2025: €166.4 billion. Cades, which is due to cease operations in 2033, has been unable to assume the social security debt since 2024, its ceiling having been reached. Acoss is now responsible for this task.
Public Services
EDF debt
Net financial debt (2024) of the state-owned national electric utility company Électricité de France (EDF)
0
.3
billion €
Public hospital debt
Total debt of public hospitals (2023)
0
.1
billion €
after 2.4 billion euros in 2023 and 1.3 billion in 2002. Around 75% of public hospitals are in deficit.
SNCF debt
Current debt of the state-owned national railway company SNCF Réseau (2024)
0
.8
billion €
€24.2 billion in 2023
PUBLIC PAYMENTS TO SNCF
All public funding (purchases and subsidies) paid to SNCF by the State and regions in 2023
0
.3
billion €
after €20 billion in 2022 and €18.5 billion in 2021.
Foreign trade
Trade deficit
France’s projected trade balance (exports/imports of goods) in 2025
Deficits of €81 billion in 2024, €90.9 billion in 2023 and €162.6 billion in 2022.
Foreign trade deficit
France’s trade balance (exports/imports of goods and services) in 2023
0
billion €
Current account deficit
France’s trade balance in goods, services and income (including FDI) in 2023
0
.8
billion €
State burden
Applicable standards
Number of standards in force
0
Normative volume
Number of words in all current standards
0
+93,8% since 2002
COST TO BUSINESS
Estimated annual cost of normative excess
0
billion €
in 2022
BUREAUCRATIC BURDEN
France’s ranking in the World Economic Forum World Outlook
0
in 2021