Highest deficit since reunification: cities and counties are broke

The holes in municipal households are getting bigger and bigger! These are the reasons.

The Okinawa branch of Tokyo Shoko Research announced on the 1st that the number of corporate bankruptcies in the prefecture (total debt of 10 million yen or more) in fiscal 2024 increased for the second consecutive year, by 10 cases to 53. The total debt was 5.543 billion yen, the fourth lowest level on record after 5.118 billion yen in fiscal 2017. This was due to the large number of small-scale bankruptcies.

Berlin, April 2, 2025. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the municipalities recorded a financing deficit of 24. 8 billion euros in 2024. This has more than tripled the deficit compared to 2023 and is the highest since German reunification. Social spending is particularly heavy on municipal budgets. Compared to 2023, the deficit has risen by 11.7 percent or 8.9 billion euros and totaled 84.5 billion euros. Carolin Bachmann, a member of…

German cities and municipalities are sinking into their deepest budget deficit in history. According to data from the Federal Statistical Office, the financial balance of municipal budgets in 2024 will reach minus 24.8 billion euros - the most since German reunification in 1990, writes the German daily Bild.