PN says Malta’s debt hits record €11.4 billion in 2025, criticises government fiscal direction

Malta’s national debt reached a record €11.4 billion in 2025, according to figures published by the National Statistics Office, prompting sharp criticism from the Nationalist Party over the government’s fiscal management.

In a statement, the PN said the latest data confirms that the country’s debt rose from €10.6 billion at the end of 2024 to €11.4 billion by the end of 2025, an increase of €776 million in just one year. 

The party argued that the current administration led by Prime Minister Robert Abela has accumulated more debt than all previous Maltese prime ministers combined.

The figures also indicate that Malta registered a deficit exceeding €545 million in 2025, despite government projections of improved fiscal performance in the coming years, it said.

Earlier on the same day, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana said the government expects to balance public finances by 2029, potentially achieving a surplus within three years. 

He also said Malta could exit the European Union’s Excessive Deficit Procedure by next summer, later than previously anticipated.

Malta has been under the EU’s fiscal monitoring framework since July 2024, with the PN saying that the government had earlier indicated the country would exit the procedure sooner, but timelines have since shifted.

According to the Opposition, the total debt level now translates to more than €28,200 per citizen. It also warned that government projections show debt could exceed €14 billion by 2028, further increasing the financial burden.

The PN spoke of rising interest payments as an additional concern, and said that government projections in Budget 2026 suggest that Malta could pay between €340 million and €350 million in interest on public debt this year, equivalent to nearly €1 million per day. 

Recent figures indicate that by the end of February, interest payments had already reached €51.3 million, it said.

In their statement, PN MPs Adrian Delia and Jerome Caruana Cilia said that increasing debt levels are not being matched by improvements in key sectors such as cost of living, infrastructure, healthcare, and environmental protection.

The PN also accused the government of continued excessive spending and failing to address long-standing structural issues, describing the current administration as having “lost control of the country’s direction.”

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