Government debt rose to 92.9% of GDP in euro area

The FINANCIAL — At the end of the first quarter of 2015, the government debt1 to GDP ratio2 in the euro area3 (EA19) stood at 92.9%, compared with 92.0% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2014. In the EU283, the ratio increased from 86.9% to 88.2%. Compared with the first quarter of 2014, the government debt to GDP ratio rose in both the euro area (from 91.9% to 92.9%) and the EU28 (from 86.2% to 88.2%).

At the end of the first quarter of 2015, debt securities accounted for 79.1% of euro area and for 80.8% of EU28 general government debt. Loans made up 18.0% and 15.2% respectively and currency and deposits represented 2.9% of euro area and 3.9% of EU28 government debt. Due to the involvement of EU governments in financial assistance to certain Member States, quarterly data on intergovernmental lending (IGL)4 is also published. The share of IGL in GDP at the end of the first quarter of 2015 amounted to 2.3% in the euro area and to 1.7% in the EU28, according to Eurostat.

These data are released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

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Government debt at the end of the first quarter 2015 by Member State

The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of the first quarter of 2015 were recorded in Greece (168.8%), Italy (135.1%) and Portugal (129.6%), and the lowest in Estonia (10.5%), Luxembourg (21.6%) and

Bulgaria (29.6%).

Compared with the fourth quarter of 2014, fifteen Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the first quarter of 2015 and twelve a decrease. The highest increases in the ratio were recorded in Belgium (+4.5 pp), Italy (+3.0 pp) and Croatia5 (+2.6 pp). The largest decreases were recorded in Greece (-8.3 pp), Latvia (-5.1 pp) and Lithuania (-2.7 pp).

Compared with the first quarter of 2014, fourteen Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the first quarter of 2015, twelve a decrease and in Estonia there was no change. The highest increases in the ratio were recorded in Bulgaria (+10.0 pp), Croatia (+6.2 pp) and Slovenia (+4.8 pp), while the largest decreases were recorded in Greece (-5.5 pp) and Hungary (-4.7 pp).