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Wednesday, March 22, 2006 Federal government finance: Assets and liabilities
At March 31, 2005, the federal government's net financial debt (defined as the excess of liabilities over financial assets) fell to $523.3 billion, down $300 million from March 31, 2004. A decrease of $2.3 billion in financial assets and $2.6 billion in liabilities explain this drop. As a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), the federal government net financial debt decreased from 41.8% in 2004 to 39.4% in 2005, the lowest since 1984. Per capita, the net financial debt decreased from $16,427 to $16,266. These statistics are based on the data released in the federal government's public accounts dated March 31, 2005 and converted to Statistics Canada's Financial Management System (FMS). The federal government introduced full 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 assets, liabilities and net debt reported in 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. As a result, FMS statistics frequently differ from the figures published in government financial statements.
Available on CANSIM: tables 385-0010, 385-0014, 385-0017 to 385-0019 and 385-0025. Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 1709. Data are available through custom and special tabulations. For more information, or general enquiries on the products or services of the Public Institutions Division, contact Jo-Anne Thibault (613-951-0767; jo-anne.thibault@statcan.gc.ca). For further information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Terry Moore (613-951-5195), Public Institutions Division. |
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