Deficit for Swedish central government in July 2026
Deficit for Swedish central government in July 2026
Swedish central government payments resulted in a deficit of SEK 9.2 billion in July. The Debt Office’s forecast was a surplus of SEK 7.7 billion. The difference is mainly due to lower payments from the EU.
The primary balance was SEK 17.7 billion lower than the forecast. The difference is mainly due to an incoming payment from the EU's Recovery and Resilience Facility not being received in July as we had assumed in our most recent forecast from May. The payment is now expected to be made later this year and therefore does not affect the full-year forecast. The forecast for the incoming payment was close to SEK 15 billion. The payment is part of the support from the EU's joint effort to strengthen the recovery of member states after the pandemic and contribute to the green and digital transition. Disbursements from several agencies were also higher than forecast, which was offset by tax revenues being approximately SEK 8 billion higher than estimated.
The Debt Office’s net lending to government agencies etc. was SEK 0.1 billion lower than forecast.
Interest payments on central government debt were SEK 0.6 billion lower than forecast.
For the twelve-month period up to the end of July 2026, central government payments resulted in a deficit of SEK 128.3 billion.
Central government debt amounted to SEK 1,265 billion at the end of July.
The outcome for August 2026 will be published on 7 September, 2026 at 8.00 a.m.
The date for publishing a new forecast on the Swedish economy and central government borrowing is 26 November 2026.
| Budget balance and central government net borrowing requirement [1] (SEK million) | |||||
| Outcome | Forecast | Deviation | Acc. Dev. [2] | Outcome 12-month | |
| Budget balance | -9 249 | 7 719 | -16 968 | -21 532 | -128 289 |
| Net borrowing requirement [1] | 9 249 | -7 719 | 16 968 | 21 532 | 128 289 |
| Primary balance [3] | 17 126 | -596 | 17 722 | 31 794 | 114 127 |
| Net lending to agencies etc. [4] | -6 341 | -6 193 | -148 | -8 816 | -13 559 |
| Interest payments on central government debt | -1 536 | -930 | -606 | -1 446 | 27 721 |
| - Interest on loans in SEK | -1 414 | -1 103 | -311 | 92 | 31 617 |
| - Interest on loans in foreign currency | 126 | 34 | 92 | -217 | -679 |
| - Realised currency gains and losses | -247 | 139 | -387 | -1 321 | -3 217 |
| [1] The net borrowing requirement corresponds to the budget balance with the opposite sign. | |||||
| [2] Sum of monthly forecast deviations since last forecast. | |||||
| [3] Net of the state's primary expenditure and income. | |||||
| [4] The net of government agencies etc. deposits and loans in the state’s internal bank. The net lending includes both current government operations and temporary occurrences that can be decided on short notice. The net lending affects the net borrowing requirement and central government debt, but is not covered by the Central government expenditure ceiling. | |||||
Report: Sweden’s Central Government Debt July 2026
Official statistics on the central government net borrowing requirement and government debt
The monthly outcome of the central government net borrowing requirement is included in the official statistics of Sweden.
The Debt Office published its latest forecast on the Swedish economy and central government borrowing on 28 May 2026: Central Government Borrowing - Forecast and Analysis 2026:1.