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The government debt is compiled as the total domestic and foreign debt less the assets of the public funds and the balance of the central government's account with Danmarks Nationalbank.
Danish central-government debt rose in 2009 after a number of years with large government surpluses, cf. Chart 2. At year-end, the central-government debt amounted to DKK 302 billion, corresponding to 18 per cent of GDP. On a per-capita basis, government debt had risen from approximately DKK 35,000 in 2008 to approximately DKK 55,000 in 2009.
| Central-government debt, 1975-2009 | Chart 1 |
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| Table 1: Central-government debt |
| DKK billion | End-2009 |
| Domestic debt | 488 |
| Foreign debt | 140 |
| Government funds | -115 |
| Central-government account | -211 |
| Central-government debt | 302 |
| Capital injections into banks and mortgage-credit institutes | -46 |
| Re-lending to the Financial Stability Company | -29 |
| Other re-lending | -53 |
| Central-government debt adjusted for lending | 173 |
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Interest costs
The increase in the central-government debt in 2009 implied that interest costs rose by DKK 1.8 billion to DKK 13.5 billion, cf. Chart 2. The central government's costs for financing of re-lending and capital injections into banks and mortgage-credit institutes are offset by interest payments from the companies. The interest payable on the capital injections averages 10.1 per cent, reflecting the risk incurred by the central government in this context. Adjusted for interest income from re-lending and capital injections, interest costs on the central-government debt declined by DKK 0.6 billion in 2009.
| Central-government interest costs, 2000-09 | Chart 2 |
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