Brasilia, Feb 1 (IANS): Brazil's public sector recorded a primary surplus of 64.7 billion reals ($12 billion) in 2021, equivalent to 0.75 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and the first since 2013, when the surplus was 1.71 per cent of GDP, the country's central bank revealed

The numbers include the fiscal performance of Brazil's central government, states, municipalities and state-owned companies, excluding banks, oil company Petrobras and energy company Eletrobras, and does not include debt interest payments, reports Xinhua news agency.

The central bank indicated in its report that the consolidated public sector closed December with a primary surplus of 123 million reals, compared to a deficit of 51.8 billion reals in December 2020.

Moreover, in 2021, interest payments reached 448.4 billion reals or 5.17 percent of GDP, against 312.4 billion reals or 4.18 percent of GDP in 2020.

The nominal deficit, which includes the primary result and debt interest payments, was 383.7 billion reals in 2021, equivalent to 4.42 per cent of GDP.

Public sector net debt, which accounts for government assets such as international reserves, was 5 trillion reals or 57.3 per cent of GDP, with an annual reduction in the ratio of 5.3 percentage points of GDP.