Government debt down to 86.4% of GDP in euro area
At the end of the second quarter of 2019, the government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area (EA19) stood at 86.4%, compared with 86.5% at the end of the first quarter of 2019.
KEY POINTS
- Compared with the second quarter of 2018, the government debt to GDP ratio fell in both the euro area (from 87.3% to 86.4%) and the EU28 (from 81.5% to 80.5%)
- Loans made up 15.6% and 13.7% respectively and currency and deposits represented 3.6% of euro area and 4.7% of EU28 government debt
- The share of IGL as percentage of GDP at the end of the second quarter of 2019 amounted to 2.0% in the euro area and to 1.5% in the EU28
Europe In the EU28, the ratio decreased from 81.1% to 80.5%
Topics: Government debt GDP euro
Loans made up 15.6% and 13.7% respectively and currency and deposits represented 3.6% of euro area and 4.7% of EU28 government debt. Due to the involvement of EU Member States' governments in financial assistance to certain Member States,
uarterly data on intergovernmental lending (IGL) is also published.
The share of IGL as percentage of GDP at the end of the second quarter of 2019 amounted to 2.0% in the euro area and to 1.5% in the EU28.
Government debt at the end of the second quarter 2019 by Member State
The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of the second quarter of 2019 were recorded in Greece (180.2%), Italy (138.0%), Portugal (121.2%), Cyprus (107.2%) and Belgium (104.7%) and the lowest in Estonia (9.3%), Luxembourg (20.3%) and Bulgaria (20.4%).
Compared with the first quarter of 2019, ten Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the second quarter of 2019 and sixteen a decrease, while the ratio remained stable in Spain and France.
The highest increases in the ratio were observed in Cyprus (+4.0 percentage points – pp), Lithuania (+2.1 pp) and Finland (+1.8 pp).
The largest decreases were recorded in Portugal (-2.5 pp), Greece (-1.9 pp) and Ireland (-1.6pp).
Compared with the second quarter of 2018, eight Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the second quarter of 2019 and twenty a decrease.
The largest increases in the ratio were recorded in Cyprus (+6.4 pp), Greece (+2.7 pp) and Italy (+2.0 pp), while the largest decreases were recorded in Hungary and Slovenia (both -5.2 pp), Austria (-4.7 pp), Portugal (-4.5 pp) and Ireland (-4.4 pp). ■
