The FINANCIAL — At the end of the second quarter of 2020, the quarter in which the impacts of the containment measures as well as policy responses to the containment measures fully materialised in increased financing needs, the government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area stood at 95.1%, compared with 86.3% at the end of the first quarter of 2020. In the EU, the ratio increased from 79.4% to 87.8%. Compared with the second quarter of 2019, the government debt to GDP ratio rose in both the euro area (from 86.2% to 95.1%) and the EU (from 79.7% to 87.8%). The sharp increases are due to two factors: government debt increasing sharply, and GDP decreasing.
At the end of the second quarter of 2020, debt securities accounted for 81.6% of euro area and for 81.4% of EU general government debt. Loans made up 15.1% and 15.4% respectively and currency and deposits represented 3.3% of euro area and 3.2% of EU government debt. Due to the involvement of EU Member States’ governments in financial assistance to certain Member States, quarterly data on intergovernmental lending (IGL) are also published. The share of IGL as percentage of GDP at the end of the second quarter of 2020 amounted to 2.0% in the euro area and to 1.7% in the EU.
These data are released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Government debt at the end of the second quarter 2020 by Member State The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of the second quarter of 2020 were recorded in Greece (187.4%), Italy (149.4%), Portugal (126.1%), Belgium (115.3%), France (114.1%), Cyprus (113.2%) and Spain (110.1%), and the lowest in Estonia (18.5%), Bulgaria (21.3%) and Luxembourg (23.8%)
Compared with the first quarter of 2020, all Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the second quarter of 2020. The largest increases in the ratio were observed in Cyprus (+17.1 percentage points – pp), France (+12.8 pp), Italy (+11.8 pp), Spain (+11.1 pp), Croatia and Belgium (both +11.0 pp), Slovakia (+10.6 pp) and Greece (+10.5 pp).
Compared with the second quarter of 2019, all Member States but Ireland (-0.3 pp) registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the second quarter of 2020. The largest increases in the ratio were recorded in France (+14.9 pp), Belgium (+12.9 pp), Italy (+11.9 pp), Spain (+11.7 pp), Slovakia (+11.1 pp), Slovenia (+10.8 pp) and Austria (+10.7 pp).
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