The FINANCIAL — At the end of the third quarter of 2017, the government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area (EA19) stood at 88.1%, compared with 89.0% at the end of the second quarter of 2017.
In the EU28, the ratio also decreased from 83.3% to 82.5%. Compared with the third quarter of 2016, the government debt to GDP ratio fell in both the euro area (from 89.7% to 88.1%) and the EU28 (from 82.9% to 82.5%).
At the end of the third quarter of 2017, debt securities accounted for 80.3% of euro area and for 81.4% of EU28 general government debt. Loans made up 16.5% and 14.5% respectively and currency and deposits represented 3.1% of euro area and 4.2% of EU28 government debt. Due to the involvement of EU governments in financial assistance to certain Member States, quarterly data on intergovernmental lending (IGL) is also published. The share of IGL in GDP at the end of the third quarter of 2017 amounted to 2.1% in the euro area and to 1.6% in the EU28.
Government debt at the end of the third quarter 2017 by Member State
The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of the third quarter of 2017 were recorded in Greece (177.4%), Italy (134.1%) and Portugal (130.8%), and the lowest in Estonia (8.9%), Luxembourg (23.4%) and Bulgaria (25.6%).
Compared with the second quarter of 2017, three Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the third quarter of 2017, twenty three a decrease and the debt-to-GDP ratio for Estonia and Luxembourg remained unchanged. The highest increases in the ratio were recorded in Greece (+1.3 percentage points – pp) and Belgium (+0.9 pp). The largest decreases were recorded in the Czech Republic (-4.3 pp), Cyprus (-2.9 pp), Lithuania (-2.3 pp) and Bulgaria (-2.1 pp).
Compared with the third quarter of 2016, three Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the third quarter of 2017, twenty four a decrease and Latvia remained stable. Increases in the ratio were recorded in Italy (+2.0 pp), Luxembourg (+1.7 pp) and France (+1.0 pp), while the largest decreases were recorded in Cyprus (-7.4 pp), the Netherlands (-4.5 pp), Malta (-4.4 pp) and Germany (-4.1 pp).