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Tuesday, January 13, 2004 Federal government finance: Assets and liabilitiesAs of March 31, 2003At March 31, 2003, the federal government's net debt (defined as the excess of liabilities over financial assets) fell to $526.5 billion, down $8.2 billion from March 31, 2002. A decrease of $2.7 billion in financial assets and a reduction of $10.9 billion in liabilities explain this drop. As a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the federal government net debt decreased from 47.6% in 2002 to 43.5% in 2003, the lowest since 1984. Per capita, the net debt decreased from $17,107 to $16,691. These statistics are based on the actual data released in the federal government's public accounts dated March 31, 2003 and converted to Statistics Canada's Financial Management System (FMS). The federal government introduced accrual accounting in their 2003 financial statements. To retain comparability with prior years, these changes are not included in the FMS presentation. A reconciliation to the public accounts is available.
Note: The FMS provides a standardized presentation of government accounting for the federal, provincial and local governments in Canada. The individual governments' accounting systems are not directly comparable because the policies and structure of governments differ. The FMS adjusts data from governments Public Accounts and other records to provide detailed data that permit inter-government comparisons as well as compatible national aggregates that are consistent over time. In other words, FMS statistics may not accord with the figures published in government financial statements. Available on CANSIM: tables 385-0010, 385-0014 and 385-0017 to 385-0019. Definitions, data sources and methods: survey numbers, including related surveys, 1702, 1709 and 1723. Data are available through custom and special tabulation. For general information, or to enquire about the products or services of the Public Institutions Division, contact Joanne Rice (613-951-0767; joanne.rice@statcan.gc.ca). For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Andy Gareau (613-951-1826) or Robert Larocque (613-951-1836), Public Institutions Division. |
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