The government's outstanding debt at the end of last year amounted to SAT$846.6 million according to the Government Finance Statistics released by the Samoa Bureau of Statistics.

The government debt went down by $38.8 million when compared to December 2022. Total external debt was $810.4 million, of this $453.7 million is owed to multilateral partners, which means for projects that are funded by more than one development partner.

The World Bank is owed $265.8 million and Asian Development Bank $168.9 million. The balances with these two lenders decreased by $10 million when compared to the previous year.

In terms of bilateral partners, Samoa owes $356.7 million. China is owed $299.8 million while Japan $56.9 million. The loan from China was decreased by $55.5 million while the loan from Japan was decreased by $9.3 million.

For 2023, taxes amounted for the biggest source of revenue. Total revenue collected was $260 million. $213.5 million were from taxes while grants from overseas partners accounted for $29.1 million.

Tax revenue increased by $33.7 million from the previous year.

The overall expenditures during December 2023 amounted to $188.6 million. It grew by $24.5 million from the previous year.

$80.7 million was spent on civil servant salaries. There was an increase of  $6.4 million suggesting growth in employment numbers in the public administration sector.

Total payments for the use of goods and services were $47.9 million. Grants to public corporations were $36.9 million, subsidies provided by the government were $9.8 million the remaining $12.5 million were utilised on social benefits, interests and other expenses.

The General Public Services which consists of almost all Government central services and ministries had the largest share amounting to $39.7 million.

$38.5 million was allocated for the health sector, the education sector received $32.5 million, economic affairs received $24.9 million.

The remaining money was distributed amongst the public order and safety, social protection, environmental protection, housing and community amenities and recreational, culture and religion sectors at $19.3 million, $18.6 million, $7.4 million, $6.4 million and $1.4 million respectively.