JERUSALEM, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Israel"s public debt slipped to 70.3% of gross domestic product in 2021 from 71.7% in 2020, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday in a preliminary estimate of its debt ratio. Public debt figures include debt of municipalities. Excluding them, the level of government debt to GDP -- viewed as a key indicator of financial strength -- fell to 68.5% last year from 70.2%. Prior to 2020, when state spending had spiked to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, the debt to GDP ratio had gradually declined to a low of 59.5% in 2019. The ministry cited economic growth of 6.7% in 2021 and a budget deficit that fell to 4.5% of GDP last year from 11.4% the prior year for the decrease in Israel"s debt burden. "It is important to return to a path of a reduction in the debt-to-GDP ratio in the coming years, in order to maintain fiscal flexibility and support the country"s credit rating," said Accountant General Yali Rothenberg.