Approximately 9% (or R101 billion) of total national government expenditure for the 2013/14 financial year was on interest on state debt. This is one of the findings from Stats SA’s latest Financial statistics of national government report.

Using financial data from 41 government departments, the report measures national government spending, broken down by function (e.g. health, education, defence) and by economic classification (e.g. salaries and wages). The following are three key results from the report.

Interest payments on debt

Interest payments on state debt increased by 14,8% over the last financial year, from R88 billion in 2012/13 to R101 billion in 2013/14. Over a five year period, interest payments on debt increased by R44 billion.

For every R100 spent by government in 2013/14, R9,30 was used to pay interest on debt, rising from R7,70 in 2009/10.

Taxes

Taxes collected by national government increased by 10,6%, from R814 billion in 2012/13 to R900 billion in 2013/14. Individuals contributed R311 billion in taxes during 2013/14, followed by value added tax (R238 billion) and taxes paid by businesses (R197 billion).

The percentage contribution by type has remained relatively stable over a five year period. Individuals contributed 34,5% to total tax in 2009/10, rising slightly to 34,6% in 2013/14. The contribution from businesses decreased from 25,5% to 21,9% over the same period.

What functions did national government spend money on?

Total national government expenditure increased by 8,1%, from R1 009 billion in 2012/13 to R1 091 billion in 2013/14. Contributors to government spending in 2013/14 were general public services (R577 billion or 52,9%), social protection (R121 billion or 11,1%), public order and safety (R105 billion or 9,6%), economic affairs (R95 billion or 8,7%), housing and community amenities (R58 billion or 5,3%), education (R52 billion or 4,8%), defence (R40 billion or 3,7%), health (R34 billion or 3,2%), recreation, culture and religion (R5 billion or 0,4%), and environmental protection (R3 billion or 0,3%).

Over a five year period, total national government expenditure increased by 47% between 2009/10 and 2013/14, with education recording the largest percentage increase (143%), followed by housing and community amenities (75%) and health (64%). The lowest increases in government spending were recorded in defence (26%) and social protection (34%).

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