At the end of 2024, the total public budget was indebted to the non-public sector by EUR 2,510.5 billion.

According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis)'s final results released on Tuesday, this corresponds to per capita debt in Germany of €30,062. This was €669 more than at the end of 2023. The non-public sector includes credit institutions and other domestic and foreign sectors, such as private companies in Germany and abroad. Compared to the end of 2023, public debt increased by 2.6 percent (63.4 billion euros) at the end of 2024.

The increase was due to increases in debt at all local authorities, with the percentage increase being largest at municipalities and municipal associations. At the end of 2024, the federal government's debt amounted to €1,732.7 billion. This represents an increase of 2.1 percent, or €35.0 billion, compared to the end of 2023. Converted to the population, the federal government's debt per capita amounted to €20,748 (2023: €20,391). The states' debt rose by 2.1 percent (€12.5 billion) to €607.3 billion in 2024. This was the first year-on-year increase since 2021, when debt had grown to €638.6 billion. The average per capita debt level of the states in 2024 was €7,273 (2023: €7,145). As in previous years, per capita debt was highest in the city-states at the end of 2024: €33,934 in Bremen (2023: €33,483), €17,571 in Hamburg (2023: €17,642), and €18,173 in Berlin (2023: €17,155). It should be noted that the city-states—unlike the federal states—also perform municipal functions. Among the non-federally owned federal states, Saarland continued to have the highest per capita debt at €13,697 (2023: €12,934), followed by Schleswig-Holstein at €10,903 (2023: €10,784). As in previous years, per capita debt was lowest in Bavaria at €1,353 (2023: €1,321) and Saxony at €1,482 (2023: €1,417). The debt of municipalities and municipal associations grew for the fifth consecutive year, increasing by 10.3 percent (€15.9 billion) year-on-year to €170.5 billion. This results in per capita municipal debt of €2,206 (2023: €2,005). With per capita debt of €3,577 (2023: €3,158), municipalities in North Rhine-Westphalia had the highest levels of debt, as in the previous year. They were followed by municipalities in Hesse with per capita debt of €3,009 (2023: €2,734). Despite the relief provided by the "Saarland Pact," Saarland municipalities and municipal associations ranked third among the most indebted municipalities, with per capita debt of €2,824 (2023: €2,796). The municipal level of Rhineland-Palatinate, which still had the highest per capita debt in 2022, is no longer among the top three most indebted municipalities for the first time due to the relief provided under the state program "Partnership for Debt Relief of Municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate" (PEK-RP) (2024: €2,388, 2023: €3,076). The lowest municipal per capita debt in 2024 was recorded by the municipalities in Brandenburg with 581 euros (2023: 556 euros), followed by the municipalities in Thuringia with 867 euros (2023: 898 euros) and in Saxony with 892 euros (2023: 758 euros). At the end of 2024, social security debt per capita stood at €0.12 (2023: €0.48). Total debt decreased by 73.9 percent to €10 million (2023: €40 million).