First quarter of 2016 compared with fourth quarter of 2015： Government debt up to 91.7% of GDP in euro area | WPN World People News

At the end of the first quarter of 2016, the government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area (EA19) stood at 91.7%, compared with 90.7% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2015. In the EU28, the ratio decreased from 85.3% to 84.8%. Compared with the first quarter of 2015, the government debt to GDP ratio fell in both the euro area (from 93.0% to 91.7%) and the EU28 (from 88.1% to 84.8%).

At the end of the first quarter of 2016, debt securities accounted for 79.3% of euro area and for 80.8% of EU28 general government debt. Loans made up 17.7% and 15.2% respectively and currency and deposits represented 3.0% of euro area and 4.0% of EU28 government debt. Due to the involvement of EU governments in financial assistance to certain Member States, quarterly data on intergovernmental lending (IGL) is also published. The share of IGL in GDP at the end of the first quarter of 2016 amounted to 2.2% in the euro area and to 1.6% in the EU28.

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

Government debt at the end of the first quarter 2016 by Member State

The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of the first quarter of 2016 were recorded in Greece (176.3%), Italy (135.4%) and Portugal (128.9%), and the lowest in Estonia (9.6%), Luxembourg (21.8%) and Bulgaria (30.3%).

Compared with the fourth quarter of 2015, sixteen Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the first quarter of 2016, eleven a decrease and Portugal remained stable. The highest increases in the ratio were recorded in Bulgaria (+3.6 pp), Belgium (+3.2 pp) and Italy (+2.7 pp). The largest decreases were recorded in Lithuania (-2.7 pp), the United Kingdom (-1.2 pp) and Sweden (-1.0 pp).

Compared with the first quarter of 2015, thirteen Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the first quarter of 2016, fourteen a decrease and in Italy there was no change. The highest increases in the ratio were recorded in Greece (+5.8 pp), Finland (+3.7 pp), Latvia (+2.9 pp) and Lithuania (+2.1 pp), while the largest decreases were recorded in Ireland (-16.7 pp – see country note), the Netherlands (-4.3 pp), Denmark (-4.1 pp), Germany, Croatia and Malta (all -3.3 pp).

Geographical Information

The euro area (EA19) consists of Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

The EU28 includes Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Source: European Commission