Germany's public debt rises 1% in Q2 to $3.1T

Germany's general public debt rose 1% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of 2026, driven by higher borrowing in special federal funds.

The country's general public budget owed the non-public sector €2.75 trillion ($3.12 trillion) at the end of the second quarter of 2026.

Preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) showed that public debt increased by 1%, or €26.3 billion, compared to the first quarter of the year.

The general public budget includes the federal government, states, municipalities and social security, along with all extra budgets, while the non-public sector comprises credit institutions and private companies.

Federal debt grew by 1.1%, or €20.5 billion, from the previous quarter to reach €1.9 trillion.

Two special funds drove this increase, just as they did in the previous quarter.

The Infrastructure and Climate Neutrality fund increased its debt by 39.1%, or €13.8 billion, to €48.9 billion.

The Bundeswehr special fund expanded its debt by 8.8%, or €4.2 billion, to €51.6 billion.

State governments held €646.2 billion in debt at the end of the second quarter, marking a 0.5%, or €2.9 billion, increase from the previous quarter.