Euro area public debt at 87.4 percent of GDP

Brussels–At the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, the government gross debt to GDP ratio in the euro area (EA20) stood at 87.4 percent, compared to 88.1 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2024. In the EU, the ratio fell from 81.6 percent to 81.0 percent.

Compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, the debt-to-GDP ratio increased slightly in the euro area (from 87.3 percent to 87.4 percent) and the EU (from 80.8 percent to 81.0 percent).

At the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, the general government debt was composed of 84.0 percent debt securities in the Euro area and 83.4 percent in the EU, 13.5 percent loans in the Euro area and 14.1 percent in the EU, and 2.5 percent currency and deposits in the Euro area and 2.4 percent in the EU.

Due to the involvement of EU Member States’ governments in lending to certain Member States, quarterly data on intergovernmental lending (IGL) are also published. The IGL as a percentage of GDP at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024 stood at 1.4% in the euro area and 1.2% in the EU.

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, published the data.

Member states’ government debt at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024

The highest public debt to GDP ratio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024 was recorded in Greece (153.6 %), Italy (135.3 %), France (113,0 %), Belgium (104.7 %), and Spain (101.8 %), while the lowest was recorded in Estonia (23.6 %), Bulgaria (24.1 %) and Luxembourg (26.3 %).

In comparison with the third quarter of 2024, eight member states recorded an increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, eighteen recorded a decrease, and the ratio remained stable in Finland.The largest increases in the ratio were observed in Poland (+2.0 percentage points – percentage points), Romania and Sweden (both +1.6 percentage points), Malta (+1.5 percentage points) and Netherlands (+1.2 percentage points). The largest decreases were recorded in Greece (-4.7 percentage points), Cyprus (-4.1 percentage points), Spain (-2.5 percentage points), Denmark (-2.3 percentage points), Portugal (-2.2 percentage points), Hungary (-2.1 percentage points) and Croatia (-2.0 percentage points).

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Compared with the third quarter of 2024, eight Member States registered an increase in their debt-to-GDP ratio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, eighteen registered a decrease, and the ratio remained stable in Finland. The largest increases in the ratio were observed in Poland (+2.0 percentage points – pp), Romania and Sweden (both +1.6 pp), Malta (+1.5 pp), and the Netherlands (+1.2 pp). The largest decreases were recorded in Greece (-4.7 pp), Cyprus (-4.1 pp), Spain (-2.5 pp), Denmark (-2.3 pp), Portugal (-2.2 pp), Hungary (-2.1 pp), and Croatia (-2.0 pp).