Government finance statistics: net financial worth

The general government financial accounts cover transactions in financial assets and liabilities as well as the stock of financial assets and liabilities. The difference between the stock of financial assets and the stock of liabilities is called net financial worth.

At the end of the second quarter of 2025, the EU net financial worth stood at -€9 024 billion or -49.1% of the gross domestic product (GDP). Compared with the end of the first quarter of 2025, the EU net financial worth decreased by -€172 billion. Compared with the end of the second quarter of 2024, the EU net financial worth decreased by -€396 billion.

This information comes from data on quarterly government finance statistics published by Eurostat today. This article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article.

Source dataset: gov_10q_ggfa

The net financial worth can change due to transactions or other economic flows (mainly price changes, also known as holding gains or losses). The main financial instrument of liabilities on the EU general governments’ balance sheets is debt securities. As these instruments are traded on the financial markets, their value changes over time and can be volatile.

At the end of the second quarter of 2025, the continued EU general government deficit, as measured from the balance of the financial accounts (net financial transactions, equalling transactions in financial assets minus transactions in liabilities, -€100 billion), contributed negatively to the evolution of net financial worth. The other major contribution to the deterioration of the EU general government net financial worth were other economic flows (mainly revaluations) in general government debt securities at market value (+€98 billion, contributing to the increase in the stock of liabilities).