Government finances: every series

Money received by the government each month: taxes (chiefly goods and services tax, business and property taxes, and import duties), non-tax revenue such as fees, rents and dividends, and grants from abroad. Receipts are lumpy because some taxes fall due in particular months; year-to-date totals are the fair comparison.

MMA calls this: Revenue

What the government spends: recurrent spending (salaries, pensions, subsidies, interest and running costs) and capital spending (buildings, infrastructure, equipment). The overall balance is revenue minus this total; a negative figure is a deficit that has to be borrowed.

MMA calls this: Expenditure and balance

Debt owed by the central government plus debt it has guaranteed for others, split into domestic and external. The ratio to GDP sets the debt against the size of the economy that has to service it. Reported quarterly, at the end of each quarter.

MMA calls this: Public debt

Who holds the government’s domestic debt, and the treasury bills issued, repaid and outstanding each month. Treasury bills are short-term borrowing that must be rolled over, so the outstanding amount and its maturity mix show how much refinancing is always due.

MMA calls this: Domestic borrowing

The interest rate the government pays on treasury bills of each maturity. These are the nearest thing to a benchmark interest rate for rufiyaa lending.

MMA calls this: Treasury bill rates