BERLIN, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Total government debt in Germany decreased by 16 billion euros (17.6 billion U.S. dollars) to 2.053 trillion euros at the end of 2019, the country's central bank, Deutsche Bundesbank, announced on Tuesday.
The debt ratio, the ratio of debt to nominal gross domestic product (GDP), had fallen from 61.9 percent at the end of 2018 to 59.8 percent, according to Deutsche Bundesbank.
"The debt ratio thus decreased for the seventh time in succession," the central bank noted.
For the first time since 2002, the debt ratio was below the 60 percent mark, which was set as a reference value for budget stability in the 1992 Maastricht Treaty.
For 2020, Deutsche Bundesbank is expecting a "sharp increase" in Germany's government debt due to the coronavirus pandemic. "The debt ratio will again surge well above the 60 percent ceiling," it noted.
According to the German Ministry of Finance, the expected decline in economic output caused by the coronavirus pandemic would lead to a drop in tax revenues of up to 35 billion euros in 2020. (1 euro = 1.1 U.S. dollars)
