BERLIN, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Germany saw its public debt in 2020 increase by 14.4 percent year-on-year to a new record high of 273.8 billion euros (323.2 billion U.S. dollars), the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Wednesday.
The cumulative debt owed by the German federal government, the states, the municipalities and the social security funds to banks and private companies totaled nearly 2.2 trillion euros, while per capita debt rose to 26,141 euros, according to Destatis.
Debt at the federal level increased by 18.1 percent, or 214.9 billion euros, last year to around 1.4 trillion euros. The increase was mainly due to funds for economic aid in order to deal with the COVID-19 crisis, Destatis noted.
Last year, the German government launched an unprecedented economic stimulus package worth 130 billion euros, which included a temporary reduction in value-added tax, fast loans for German companies and a child bonus for families. (1 euro = 1.18 U.S. dollar) Enditem