July 26, 2023

At the end of the first quarter of 2023, the general government gross debt to GDP ratio in the euro area (EA20) stood at 91.2%, compared with 91.4% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022. In the EU, the ratio also decreased from 83.8% to 83.7%. For both the euro area and the EU, the slight decrease in government debt to GDP ratio is due to an increase in GDP outweighing the increase in government debt in absolute terms. Compared with the first quarter of 2022, the government debt to GDP ratio also decreased in both the euro area (from 95.0% to 91.2%) and the EU (from 87.4% to 83.7%).

At the end of the first quarter of 2023, debt securities accounted for 83.0% of euro area and for 82.5% of EU general government debt. Loans made up 14.2% and 14.7% respectively and currency and deposits represented 2.8% of euro area and of EU government debt. 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 share of IGL as percentage of GDP at the end of the first quarter of 2023 accounted for 1.6% in the euro area and for 1.4% in the EU.

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 (113.8%), 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 and sixteen a decrease. The largest 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) while the largest decreases were recorded in Greece (-3.0 pp), Cyprus (-2.5 pp), the 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), 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).

Source: Eurostat
Legal Notice: The information in this article is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended for professional information purposes specific to a person or an institution. Every institution has different requirements because of its own circumstances even though they bear a resemblance to each other. Consequently, it is your interest to consult on an expert before taking a decision based on information stated in this article and putting into practice. Neither Karen Audit nor related person or institutions are not responsible for any damages or losses that might occur in consequence of the use of the information in this article by private or formal, real or legal person and institutions.