PRESENTATION OF THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT DEBT

By Isabelle Ynesta

National Accounts and Economic statistics

Central Government Debt Focus on borrowings requirements by governments to

finance their budget deficits.

Statistics are collected from national sources based on a questionnaire prepared and agreed by the Working Party on Government Debt Management.

Concepts and definitions are derived from SNA93.

The institutional coverage is limited to central government sector. It excludes state and local governments and social security funds.

Description of Central Government Debt Instruments

Marketable debt instruments– Money market instruments

• Treasury bills• Commercial paper• Other

– Bonds• Fixed rate income instruments• Index-linked bonds• Variable-rate notes

Non marketable debt instruments– Savings bonds– Other

Central Government Debt publication Part I: Summary tables and charts derived from

country tables expressed in million US dollars or as a percentage of GDP.

Part II: Country tables expressed in national currency.– Table 1: Central Government Debt by instrument, amounts

outstanding at the end of the year.

– Table 2: Central Government Debt by instrument, Gross and Net issues.

Part III: Methodological notes.– Describe the detail of debt instruments in each country.– Provide information on the institutional and regulatory

framework.

Central Government Debt: a part of Financial Accounts

Sector level: – Sector 1311 of financial accounts called “Central

Government”.

Instruments level:– Treasury bills are included in the category F331 of the

financial accounts called “Securities and other than shares, short term”.

– Bonds are included in the category F332 called “Securities and other than shares, long term”.

Developments of Central Government Debt

Pilot project: – Extension of the database:

• Data collection on duration and term to maturity (summer 2003).

• Data collection on financial derivatives (2004).

Other projects:– Survey on the methods used by the OECD Member countries to

calculate consecutive central government debt outstanding amounts and net issues.

– Integration of the central government debt database within the financial accounts database.

• Comparison between data collected within the framework of the financial accounts, with data collected through the central government debt questionnaire.