Costs for public administration decrease in Faroe Islands, says Prime Minister Aksel V. Johannesen

According to Prime Minister Aksel V. Johannesen, the cost of public administration has decreased compared to five years ago when considering the overall operation of the national treasury. He noted that the expenditures for public administration have neither increased nor decreased from 2019 to 2023.

In 2019, public administration costs accounted for 2.08% of all operational expenses of the national treasury, whereas this figure dropped to 1.86% last year. Additionally, the costs for central government offices were seven million kroner higher last year compared to 2022, totaling 118 million kroner in 2022 and 111 million kroner in 2021.

This information was provided by Johannesen in response to a question from Lawmaker Bárður á Steig Nielsen.

The government led by Johannesen took office just before Christmas in 2022. In 2019, the central government offices had costs of approximately 103 million kroner. However, the number of full-time equivalents in public administration has remained consistent over the years. There were 127.6 such positions last year, the same as in 2019, and slightly higher at 128.4 in 2022, with 129.5 in 2020.

Last year, central government offices spent 88.5 million kroner on salaries, up from 85.6 million in 2022, while the salary expenditure was 78 million kroner in 2019. The Prime Minister emphasized that salary increases were particularly significant in 2023.