Government debt across Europe has gone up, according to the latest data from the statistical agency of the European Union (Eurostat).

In the Euro Area, the general government gross debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio was 88.7 per cent at the end of the first quarter of 2024, up from 88.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2023. In the European Union (EU), the percentage rose from 81.5 per cent to 82.0 per cent.

Government debt to GDP ratios fell in both the Euro Area (from 90.1 per cent to 88.7 per cent) and the EU (from 83.0 per cent to 82.0 per cent) compared to the first quarter of 2023. At the end of the first quarter of 2024, general government debt comprised 83.9 per cent of debt securities in the euro area and 83.4 per cent in the EU.

Government debt by member state

At the end of the first quarter of 2024, Greece had the highest debt-to-GDP by member states at (159.8 per cent) followed by Italy (137.7 per cent), France (110.8 per cent), Spain (108.9 per cent), Belgium (108.2 per cent), and Portugal (100.4 per cent). At the same time Bulgaria (22.6 per cent), Estonia (23.6 per cent), and Luxembourg (27.2 per cent) had the lowest.

At the end of the first quarter of 2024, 20-Member States’ debt-to-GDP ratios increased, while seven decreased, compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. The ratio increased the most in Slovakia (+4.6 percentage points pp), Estonia (+4.0 pp), Belgium (+3.1 pp), Romania (+2.8 pp), Hungary (+2.5 pp), and Austria (+2.1 pp),

It went down in Greece (-2.1 pp), Cyprus and the Netherlands (both -1.2 pp), Sweden and Ireland (both -0.8 pp), Bulgaria (-0.5 pp), and Germany (-0.2 pp).

Compared to the first quarter of 2023, 12-Member States’ debt-to-GDP ratios increased, 14-Member States decreased, and Ireland’s ratio stayed unchanged.

The ratio increased the most in Estonia (+6.3 pp), Finland (+4.2 pp), Poland (+3.3 pp), Slovakia (+2.7 pp), Romania (+2.2 pp), Lithuania (+2.1 pp), and Belgium (+2.0 pp). Portugal (-12.0 pp), Greece (-9.6 pp), Cyprus (-6.8 pp), Croatia (-5.3 pp), the Netherlands (-2.8 pp), Spain, and Germany (both -2.2 pp) had the most significant drops.