2025-11-05
Along with the national set of accounts presented to the Seimas, the National Audit Office provided information on the public debt. According to the auditors, no significant misstatements were found in the data, which is accurate in all material respects. However, Auditor General Irena Segalovičienė points out that it is important not to succumb to easy decisions to borrow, even if there is still room before the Maastricht criteria are reached.
At the end of 2024, general government debt amounted to EUR 29,992.3 million, an increase of EUR 2,411.8 million, or 8.7%, over 2024. The debt-to-GDP ratio increased by 0.9 percentage points and amounted to 38.0% of GDP at the end of 2024. The debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to increase by 0.5 percentage points in 2025 and 0.3 percentage points in 2026.
"We are observing positive steps in the management of debt undertaken on behalf of the state – both the fiscal discipline legislation that has already been adopted and that which is currently before the Seimas and planned for adoption covers the main debt management issues related to ensuring fiscal sustainability, borrowing planning, and risk management. It is necessary to strengthen the public finance system and ensure that the management of public debt is based on clear rules, long-term objectives, and compliance with the Maastricht criteria," says the Auditor General.
The National Audit Office, implementing the function of the fiscal institution, projects that the general government debt will reach 42.6% of GDP this year. In the medium term, it will grow faster than presented in Lithuania's fiscal structural plan and will exceed half of the country's GDP (53.8% of GDP)* in 2028. The updated general government debt projections will be published together with the assessment of the 2026-2028 draft budget on 6 November.
"If we want security – an increase in defence funding to 5% of GDP – and at the same time seek to maintain the availability and quality of public services, we must create sustainable sources of income without delay. Otherwise, the public debt will approach the risky 60% of GDP threshold for Lithuania," Segalovičienė asserts.
For more information on the results of the audit of the national set of accounts, please refer to: Results of the financial audit of the national set of accounts for 2024.
*For an assessment of the fiscal part of Lithuania's medium-term fiscal structural plan, see: Assessment of the fiscal part of Lithuania's medium-term Fiscal Structural Plan.