German public deficit reaches €71.3bn in H1 2026, exceeding the EU’s 3% threshold

Herz — World Desk · 25 August 2026 at 08:44 · 30s summary · 1 min read

What the figures show

Germany’s public deficit, covering the federal government, the Länder, municipalities and social security, reached €71.3 billion in the first half of 2026. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) published the figures on August 25, 2026.

The shortfall was equivalent to 3.1% of gross domestic product, exceeding the 3% limit under the EU Stability and Growth Pact, the framework through which member states coordinate fiscal policy and seek to prevent excessive deficits.

This was the first time since the first half of 2021, during the Covid crisis, that Germany had exceeded the threshold in a first half-year period. The ratio stood at 3.9% in H1 2021.

The deficit was €36.6 billion higher than in the first half of 2025.

The federal government’s deficit

At federal government level alone, the financing deficit amounted to €48.1 billion, an increase of €29 billion from the same period a year earlier.

Jens Boysen-Hogrefe, a fiscal policy expert at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), attributed the increase mainly to additional defence expenditure and investments or subsidies financed through Sondervermögen, special funds outside the regular budget.

Key figures