July 24, 2023
Government debt down to 91.2% of GDP in euro area
The government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area was 91.2% at the end of the first quarter of 2023 compared to 91.4% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022. The percentage ratio fell from 83.8% to 83.7% in the EU as well. The minor decline in the government debt to GDP ratio for both the EU and the euro area can be attributed to rising GDP, which has outpaced rising government debt in absolute terms. Notable declines were noted in both the euro area and EU government debt to GDP ratio comparable to the first quarter of 2022 (from 95.0% to 91.2%) and (from 87.4% to 83.7%) respectively.
At the end of the first quarter of 2023, debt securities amounted 83% in the eurozone and 82.5% in the EU in total government debt. Loans accounted for 14.2% and 14.7% respectively, while currency and deposits made up 2.8% of both the euro area and EU government debt. Quarterly data on intergovernmental lending (IGL) are also reported because governments of EU Member States are involved in providing financial assistance to some Member States. At the end of the first quarter of 2023, the IGL share as a percentage of GDP was 1.4% in the EU and 1.6 percent in the euro area.
Government debt at the end of the first quarter 2023 by Member State
The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of the first quarter of 2023 were recorded in Greece (168.3%), Italy (143.5%), Portugal (116.8%), Spain (112.8%), France (112.4%), and Belgium (107.4%), and the lowest in Estonia (17.2%), Bulgaria (22.5%), Luxembourg (28.0%) and Denmark (29.4%).
Compared with the fourth quarter of 2022, eleven Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the first quarter of 2023 while sixteen registered a decrease. Increases in the ratio were observed in Luxembourg (+3.4 percentage points – pp), Belgium (+2.2 pp), Austria and Latvia (both +2.1 pp), Romania (+1.7 pp) and Hungary (+1.5 pp). The largest decreases were recorded in Greece (-3.0 pp), Cyprus (-2.5 pp), Netherlands (-1.8 pp), Estonia (-1.2 pp), Sweden (-1.1 pp), Poland (-1.0 pp), Ireland and Italy (both -0.9 pp).
Compared with the first quarter of 2022, six Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the first quarter of 2023 and twenty-one Member States a decrease. Increases in the ratio were recorded in Luxembourg (+5.4 pp), Czechia (+1.7 pp) and Latvia (+1.1 pp), Romania (+0.7 pp), Bulgaria (+0.5 pp) and Finland (+0.2 pp), while the largest decreases were observed in Greece (-21.2 pp), Cyprus (-18.0 pp), Portugal (-10.8 pp), Ireland (-8.9 pp), Italy (-7.9 pp), Croatia (-6.4 pp), Slovenia (-5.2 pp), Spain (-4.6 pp) and Poland (-3.8 pp).
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