Government debt up to 88.7% of GDP in euro area (2024)

Euro indicators 22 July 2024 Next release: 22 October 2024

First quarter of 2024

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Up to 82.0% of GDP in EU

Overview

At the end of the first quarter of 2024, the general government gross debt to GDP ratio in the euro area (EA20) stood at 88.7%, compared with 88.2% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023. In the EU, the ratio also increased from 81.5% to 82.0%.

Compared with the first quarter of 2023, the government debt to GDP ratio decreased in both the euro area (from 90.1% to 88.7%) and the EU (from 83.0% to 82.0%).

At the end of the first quarter of 2024, the general government debt was made up of 83.9% debt securities in the euro area and 83.4% in the EU, 13.6% loans in the euro area and 14.0% in the EU and 2.6% currency and deposits both in the euro area and 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 percentage of GDP at the end of the first quarter of 2024 stood at 1.4% in the euro area and at 1.2% in the EU.

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

Euro area and EU general government gross debt
		2023Q1	2023Q4	2024Q1^p
Euro area
General government gross debt	(million euro)	12 474 496	12 733 441	12 926 264
General government gross debt	(% of GDP)	90.1	88.2	88.7
Of which: Currency and deposits	(million euro)	349 794	352 860	335 816
Of which: Currency and deposits	(% of total debt)	2.8	2.8	2.6
Debt securities	(million euro)	10 355 954	10 624 335	10 838 907
Debt securities	(% of total debt)	83.0	83.4	83.9
Loans	(million euro)	1 768 747	1 756 243	1 751 540
Loans	(% of total debt)	14.2	13.8	13.6
Memo: Intergovernmental lending	(million euro)	218 078	212 963	211 094
Memo: Intergovernmental lending	(% of GDP)	1.6	1.5	1.4
EU
General government gross debt	(million euro)	13 536 157	13 880 501	14 102 691
General government gross debt	(% of GDP)	83.0	81.5	82.0
Of which: Currency and deposits	(million euro)	374 653	376 406	359 667
Of which: Currency and deposits	(% of total debt)	2.8	2.7	2.6
Debt securities	(million euro)	11 186 564	11 517 406	11 767 396
Debt securities	(% of total debt)	82.6	83.0	83.4
Loans	(million euro)	1 974 940	1 986 688	1 975 627
Loans	(% of total debt)	14.6	14.3	14.0
Memo: Intergovernmental lending	(million euro)	218 078	212 963	211 094
Memo: Intergovernmental lending	(% of GDP)	1.3	1.3	1.2
^p Provisional Rounding differences may occur.

Government debt at the end of the first quarter of 2024 by Member State

The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of the first quarter of 2024 were recorded in Greece (159.8%), Italy (137.7%), France (110.8%), Spain (108.9%), Belgium (108.2%) and Portugal (100.4%), and the lowest were recorded in Bulgaria (22.6%), Estonia (23.6%) and Luxembourg (27.2%).

Compared with the fourth quarter of 2023, twenty Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the first quarter of 2024 and seven a decrease. The largest increases in the ratio were observed in Slovakia (+4.6 percentage points – pp), Estonia (+4.0 pp), Belgium (+3.1 pp), Romania (+2.8 pp), Hungary (+2.5 pp) and Austria (+2.1 pp), while decreases were recorded in Greece (-2.1 pp), Cyprus and the Netherlands (both -1.2 pp), Sweden and Ireland (both -0.8 pp), Bulgaria (-0.5 pp) and Germany (-0.2 pp).

Compared with the first quarter of 2023, twelve Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the first quarter of 2024, fourteen Member States a decrease, while the ratio remained stable in Ireland. The largest increases in the ratio were recorded in Estonia (+6.3 pp), Finland (+4.2 pp), Poland (+3.3 pp), Slovakia (+2.7 pp), Romania (+2.2 pp), Lithuania (+2.1 pp) and Belgium (+2.0 pp). The largest decreases were observed in Portugal (-12.0 pp), Greece (-9.6 pp), Cyprus (-6.8 pp), Croatia (-5.3 pp), the Netherlands (-2.8 pp), Spain and Germany (both -2.2 pp).

Tables

General government gross debt by Member State
General government gross debt
		Millions of national currency			% of GDP			Difference in pp of GDP 2024Q1^p compared with:
		2023Q1	2023Q4	2024Q1^p	2023Q1	2023Q4	2024Q1^p	2023Q1	2023Q4
Euro area	EUR	12 474 496	12 733 441	12 926 264	90.1	88.2	88.7	-1.4	0.5
EU	EUR	13 536 157	13 880 501	14 102 691	83.0	81.5	82.0	-1.0	0.5
Belgium	EUR	599 674	614 933	638 013	106.3	105.2	108.2	2.0	3.1
Bulgaria	BGN	38 661	42 383	42 153	22.1	23.1	22.6	0.5	-0.5
Czechia	CZK	3 099 456	3 228 386	3 332 259	42.9	42.4	43.4	0.5	1.0
Denmark*	DKK	969 809	943 507	949 281	33.7	33.6	34.0	0.3	0.4
Germany	EUR	2 587 201	2 622 669	2 635 910	65.6	63.6	63.4	-2.2	-0.2
Estonia	EUR	6 334	7 375	8 913	17.3	19.6	23.6	6.3	4.0
Ireland	EUR	223 592	220 672	215 785	42.5	43.3	42.5	0.0	-0.8
Greece	EUR	355 732	356 695	355 947	169.4	161.9	159.8	-9.6	-2.1
Spain	EUR	1 535 380	1 573 754	1 613 043	111.2	107.7	108.9	-2.2	1.3
France	EUR	3 018 710	3 101 443	3 159 743	111.8	109.9	110.8	-0.9	0.9
Croatia	EUR	48 409	48 248	49 520	68.6	63.1	63.3	-5.3	0.3
Italy	EUR	2 791 248	2 863 438	2 894 170	139.3	137.3	137.7	-1.6	0.4
Cyprus	EUR	23 490	23 036	23 046	82.9	77.3	76.1	-6.8	-1.2
Latvia	EUR	17 192	17 581	18 043	43.7	43.6	44.5	0.8	0.9
Lithuania	EUR	26 232	27 558	29 226	38.0	38.3	40.1	2.1	1.8
Luxembourg	EUR	22 223	20 358	21 735	28.4	25.7	27.2	-1.3	1.5
Hungary	HUF	51 217 594	55 134 430	58 275 759	75.5	73.5	76.0	0.5	2.5
Malta	EUR	9 250	9 768	9 976	51.6	50.3	50.4	-1.2	0.1
Netherlands	EUR	474 436	481 468	475 823	46.7	45.1	43.9	-2.8	-1.2
Austria	EUR	367 993	371 143	383 205	80.1	77.6	79.7	-0.4	2.1
Poland	PLN	1 532 407	1 691 233	1 771 816	48.1	49.6	51.4	3.3	1.9
Portugal	EUR	279 166	263 085	270 818	112.4	99.1	100.4	-12.0	1.4
Romania	RON	714 861	783 532	845 456	49.4	48.8	51.6	2.2	2.8
Slovenia	EUR	42 312	43 670	45 402	72.2	69.2	70.7	-1.5	1.5
Slovakia	EUR	65 318	68 830	75 869	57.9	56.0	60.7	2.7	4.6
Finland	EUR	198 669	210 667	213 159	73.3	76.6	77.5	4.2	0.8
Sweden	SEK	1 942 761	1 963 940	1 931 769	32.4	31.6	30.8	-1.6	-0.8
Norway	NOK	1 889 957	2 271 031	2 133 073	33.2	44.3	42.2	9.0	-2.1
^p Provisional * See country metadata notes Rounding differences may occur. Source dataset: gov_10q_ggdebt

General government gross debt by Member State
Components of government debt, in % of GDP					IGL (assets)
		Currency and deposits	Debt Securities	Loans	% of GDP
		2024Q1^p	2024Q1^p	2024Q1^p	2024Q1^p
Euro area	EUR	2.3	74.4	12.0	1.4
EU	EUR	2.1	68.4	11.5	1.2
Belgium	EUR	0.3	93.3	14.6	1.3
Bulgaria	BGN	-	18.7	3.9	0.0
Czechia	CZK	0.4	39.7	3.3	0.0
Denmark*	DKK	0.7	30.5	2.8	0.0
Germany	EUR	0.4	50.4	12.7	1.5
Estonia	EUR	0.1	13.9	9.6	1.2
Ireland	EUR	5.1	28.2	9.2	0.0
Greece	EUR	3.1	42.6	114.0	0.0
Spain	EUR	0.4	97.1	11.5	1.8
France	EUR	1.4	98.9	10.6	1.6
Croatia	EUR	0.1	45.0	18.3	0.0
Italy	EUR	9.0	115.1	13.7	1.9
Cyprus	EUR	0.5	45.6	29.9	1.0
Latvia	EUR	1.3	38.5	4.7	0.0
Lithuania	EUR	0.3	32.3	7.5	0.0
Luxembourg	EUR	0.4	22.5	4.3	0.8
Hungary	HUF	0.7	66.9	8.4	0.0
Malta	EUR	2.2	43.4	4.8	1.0
Netherlands	EUR	0.1	36.9	6.9	1.2
Austria	EUR	0.4	70.7	8.7	1.3
Poland	PLN	0.3	38.5	12.6	0.0
Portugal	EUR	18.0	56.8	25.6	0.3
Romania	RON	0.9	42.7	8.1	0.0
Slovenia	EUR	0.3	61.3	9.0	1.7
Slovakia	EUR	0.0	53.8	6.9	1.5
Finland	EUR	0.3	58.5	18.7	1.5
Sweden	SEK	2.4	18.0	10.4	0.0
Norway	NOK	-	15.1	27.1	-
^p Provisional * See country metadata notes - Not applicable Rounding differences may occur. Source dataset: gov_10q_ggdebt

Notes for users

Methods and definitions

Quarterly data on government debt are collected from the Member States according to European System of Accounts (ESA 2010), see Annex B, ESA 2010 transmission programme, and refer to the Maastricht debt definition, used in the context of the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP). Annual EDP data, next to be published in October 2024, are the subject of a thorough verification by Eurostat.

The general government gross debt is defined as the consolidated gross debt of the whole general government sector outstanding at the end of the quarter (at face value). General government debt consists of liabilities of general government in the following financial instruments: currency and deposits (AF.2), debt securities (AF.3) and loans (AF.4), as defined in ESA 2010.

The debt to GDP ratio is calculated for each quarter using the sum of quarterly GDP for the four last quarters. Quarterly data on GDP are the most recent ones transmitted by the EU Member States. While quarterly debt figures are consistent with annual debt figures at coinciding publications, differences between quarterly and annual data occur at non-coinciding publications. Differences between annual and quarterly GDP figures also occur.

For the purpose of proper consolidation of general government debt and to provide users with information, Eurostat publishes data on government loans (IGL) to other EU governments. The concepts and definitions are based on ESA 2010 and on the rules relating to the statistics for the EDP. The data covered is the stock of loans related to claims on other EU Member States, including loans made through the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). The valuation basis is the stock of loans at face value outstanding at end of each quarter. From the first quarter of 2011 onwards, the intergovernmental lending figures relate mainly to lending to Greece, Ireland and Portugal and include loans made by the EFSF.

For stock data such as general government debt, end of period exchange rates are used in the compilation of the EU aggregates. For flow data, such as GDP, average exchange rates are used. The EU aggregates, denominated in euro, can fluctuate as a result of exchange rate movements between the euro and other EU currencies.

All quarterly government finance statistics data for the first quarter of 2024 have been labelled provisional, due to an increased likelihood of future revisions.

Geographical Information

Euro area (EA20): Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

European Union (EU27): Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.

For more information

“Statistics Explained” article on quarterly government finance statistics
Database section on quarterly data on government debt by Member State
Decision regarding the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF)
Further data are available in the presentation on ‘integrated government finance statistics’
ESA 2010: Regulation (EU) No 549/2013 on the European system of national and regional accounts in the European Union
Most recent government deficit and debt News Release
Euro indicators dashboard
Release calendar for Euro indicators
European Statistics Code of Practice

Get in touch

Media requests

Eurostat Media Support

Phone: (+352) 4301 33 408

E-mail: eurostat-mediasupport@ec.europa.eu

Further information on data

Leonor ZUBIMENDI TORAN

Kornelia BEZHANOVA

Monika GAPINSKA

Yordan YORDANOV

Laura WAHRIG

Phone: (+352) 4301 37 687

E-mail: estat-gov-debt@ec.europa.eu

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Government debt up to 88.7% of GDP in euro area (2024)

FAQs

What percentage of GDP is the EU debt? ›

Compared with the third quarter of 2022, the government debt to GDP ratio also decreased in both the euro area (from 92.2% to 89.9%) and the EU (from 84.6% to 82.6%).

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At the end of 2023, 13 out of 27 EU countries reported debt to GDP ratios higher than 60.0 %, while five EU countries recorded debt to GDP ratios of more than 100.0 %: Greece recorded the highest debt to GDP ratio at 161.9 %, followed by Italy (137.3 %), France (110.6 %), Spain (107.7 %) and Belgium (105.2 %).

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Germany: national debt in relation to gross domestic product (GDP) from 2015 to 2029

Characteristic	National debt as percent of GDP
2021	68.99%
2020	68.77%
2019	59.58%
2018	61.91%

9 more rows

Jul 4, 2024

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At the end of 2023, the lowest ratios of government debt to GDP were recorded in Estonia (19.6 %), Bulgaria (23.1 %), Luxembourg (25.7 %), Denmark (29.3 %), Sweden (31.2 %) and Lithuania (38.3 %).

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United States. The United States boasts both the world's biggest national debt in terms of dollar amount and its largest economy, which resolves to a debt-to GDP ratio of approximately 121.31%. The United States' government's spending exceeds its income most years, and the US has not had a budget surplus since 2001.

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1. Luxembourg. Luxembourg is one of the richest countries in Europe. With a population of around 650,000, it boasts a remarkable GDP per capita of over $115,000, making it the highest in the world as of 2022.

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By the numbers: In the last century, the U.S. federal debt has risen from an inflation-adjusted $403 billion in 1923 to $33.17 trillion in 2023. The U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio surpassed 100% in 2013 and currently stands at 123%, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Who owns US debt? ›

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All values are adjusted to 2023 dollars. As of April 2024, the five countries owning the most US debt are Japan ($1.1 trillion), China ($749.0 billion), the United Kingdom ($690.2 billion), Luxembourg ($373.5 billion), and Canada ($328.7 billion).

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Who has the worst debt-to-GDP ratio? ›

At the top is Japan, whose national debt has remained above 100% of its GDP for two decades, reaching 255% in 2023. *For the U.S. and Canada, gross debt levels were adjusted to exclude unfunded pension liabilities of government employees' defined-benefit pension plans.

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In 2023, the national debt of the European Union amounted to approximately 83.29 percent of the gross domestic product.

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As of March 2023, the Japanese public debt is estimated to be approximately 9.2 trillion US dollars (1.30 quadrillion yen), or 263% of GDP, and is one of the highest among developed nations. 43.3% of this debt is held by the Bank of Japan.

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$24.22 trillion

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