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Statistics Iceland releases now a new issue of Statistical Series. This issue presents the General government finances in 2010 and its main focus is on the general government. Similar information is available on its subsectors at Statistics Iceland's website.

The general government total expenditure amounted to 48.6% of GDP in 2010 compared with 51.0% in 2009 and 57.6% in 2008. Around 23.6% of GDP was spent on the three largest expenditure functions, i.e. health, education and social protection. Total expenditure on health was 9.3% of GDP, of which 80.5% was financed by the general government and the rest by households. The total expenditure on education was 132 billion ISK or 8.7% of GDP, of which 91.3% was financed by the general government, and the total general government expenditure on social protection in 2010 was 169 billion ISK or 11% of GDP. About 15.5% of general government total expenditure goes to health affairs, 16.1% to education and 22.6% to social protection. In total, 54% of the general government total expenditure goes to these three functions.

The general government net financial assets, i.e. financial assets less liabilities, were negative by 663 billion ISK in 2010 or 43% of GDP. The deterioration from 2009 is 66 billion ISK or 3% of GDP. The general government total financial asset amounted to 1,188 billion ISK in the end of 2010 and the total liabilities 1,851 billion ISK. It is needed to go back to 1998 to have similar net financial assets position; in that year it was 42.6% of GDP.

In 2010, the financial balance of the general government was 97 billion ISK in deficit or 6.3% of GDP, which can be compared with a deficit of 10% of GDP for 2009 and 13.5% for 2008. The general government total revenue amounted to 42.3% of GDP in 2010, compared with 41.1% in 2009, 44.1% in 2008 and 47.9% in 2007, and has increased by more than one percentage of GDP from 2009 after a considerable decrease from 2007.

General government finances 2010, preliminary accounts - Statistical Series