Government deficit of 8 billion euros in the first half of 2026

Government borrowing amounted to 8 billion euros in the first half of 2026. Total public debt stood at 524 billion euros on 1 July 2026, the same as at year-end 2025. That is 43.7 percent of Dutch gross domestic product (GDP). Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of provisional figures.

The deficit in the first half of 2026 is the largest first-half deficit since 2021, when public finances were hit hard by the coronavirus crisis. In 2025, the deficit in the first half of the year stood at nearly 5 billion euros.

Expressed as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the public spending deficit came to 1.9 percent on an annualised basis (over the last half of 2025 and the first half of 2026).

Public spending has risen more rapidly than revenues

The government spent 273 billion euros in the first half of 2026, 5 percent more than it spent in the same period last year. Almost half of public spending goes on social security benefits, which rose by 8 billion euros. The government’s operating costs (such as salaries for public workers and the procurement of goods and services) rose by 5 percent to 92 billion euros. Remittances to the European Union rose by 2 billion euros.

Government revenues rose by 4 percent in the first half of 2026 to 265 billion euros. Income and payroll taxes and VAT were the main contributors to that increase, rising by 5 billion euros (7 percent) and 2 billion euros (5 percent) respectively. On the other hand, revenues from corporation tax fell by 1 billion euros to 28 billion euros.

Total debt unchanged, debt-to-GDP ratio lower

Despite the current account deficit, public debt in mid-2026 was the same as it was at the end of 2025: 524 billion euros. This is mainly because the debt incurred at the end of 2025 was used in part to help fund spending in early 2026. As a result, the change in debt and the deficit diverged in the first half of 2026.

Because the economy grew, the debt-to-GDP ratio fell from 44.7 percent at the end of 2025 to 43.7 percent in mid-2026.

The government balance and debt-to-GDP ratio are important indicators of the state of a country’s public finances. The European convergence criteria permit a maximum deficit of 3 percent of GDP in a given year, and a maximum debt level of 60 percent of GDP at the end of that year.

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