This dataset provides values for GOVERNMENT BUDGET reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

The statistic depicts the budgetary balance in EU countries in 2023 in relation to the gross domestic product (GDP). A positive value indicates a budget surplus, while a negative value indicates a budget deficit. In 2023, Spain's budget deficit amounted to 3.6 percent of the GDP.

Euro Area recorded a Government Budget deficit equal to 3.10 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2024. This dataset provides - Euro Area Government Budget - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Key information about EU Consolidated Fiscal Balance: % of GDP

• European Union Consolidated Fiscal Balance recorded a deficit equal to 3.5 % of its Nominal GDP in Dec 2023, compared with a deficit equal to 3.2 % in the previous year
• EU Consolidated Fiscal Balance to GDP data is updated yearly, available from Dec 1995 to Dec 2023, with an average ratio of -2.7 %
• The data reached an all-time high of -0.4 % in Dec 2018 and a record low of -7.2 % in Dec 1995

CEIC calculates Consolidated Fiscal Balance as % of Nominal GDP from annual Consolidated Fiscal Balance and quarterly Nominal GDP. Eurostat provides Consolidated Fiscal Balance in EUR and Nominal GDP in EUR. European Union stands for EU27 excluding UK.


Further information about EU Consolidated Fiscal Balance: % of GDP

• In the latest reports, EU National Government Debt reached 16,136.9 USD bn in Sep 2024
• EU Nominal GDP reached 4,430.4 USD bn in Mar 2023

In the third quarter of 2024, Greece's national debt was the highest in all the European Union, amounting to 158 percent of Greece's gross domestic product. In spite of Greece's total being high by EU standards, it marks a substantial decrease from the historical high point reached by the country's national debt of 207 percent of GDP in 2020. Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, and Portugal also all have government debt worth over one year's production of their economies, while the small Baltic country of Estonia has the smallest national debt when compared with GDP, at only 24 percent. In debitum incrementum?A country’s national debt, also known as government debt or public debt, is defined as all borrowings owed by the government of a country. It usually comprises internal debt – owed to other governmental departments – and external debt, which is held by the public and is owed to government bond owners. National debt can be caused by a struggling economy in general, or by low tax income, which usually leads to money being borrowed from other governments for support, which in turn cannot be paid back right away. At first glance, a high national debt is not always a sign of a struggling economy – but since increasing debt can slow down economic growth significantly, it is imperative for the respective government to seek a steady reduction in the long run.

This dataset provides values for GOVERNMENT DEBT TO GDP reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

The statistic displays the budgetary balance in the European Union and the Euro area from 2013 to 2023 in relation to the gross domestic product (GDP). A positive value indicates a budget surplus, while a negative value indicates a budget deficit. In 2023, the public deficit in the EU amounted to 3.5 percent of the GDP.

European Union - General gov. deficit (-) and surplus (+) was -3.40% in December of 2024, according to the EUROSTAT. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for European Union - General gov. deficit (-) and surplus (+) - last updated from the EUROSTAT on June of 2025. Historically, European Union - General gov. deficit (-) and surplus (+) reached a record high of -0.20% in June of 2019 and a record low of -11.60% in June of 2020.

Key information about European Union Government Debt: % of GDP

• European Union Government debt accounted for 81.6 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Sep 2024, compared with the ratio of 81.5 % in the previous quarter.
• EU government debt to GDP ratio data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 2000 to Sep 2024.
• The data reached an all-time high of 91.5 % in Mar 2021 and a record low of 62.4 % in Dec 2007.

CEIC calculates quarterly Government Debt as % of Nominal GDP from quarterly Government Debt and rolling sum of quarterly Nominal GDP. Eurostat provides Government Debt in EUR and Nominal GDP in EUR. European Union stands for EU27 excluding UK.


Related information about European Union Government Debt: % of GDP

• In the latest reports, EU National Government Debt reached 16,136.9 USD bn in Sep 2024.
• The country's Nominal GDP reached 4,430.4 USD bn in Mar 2023.

Graph and download economic data for Cash surplus/deficit (% of GDP) for the European Union (GCBALCASHGDZSEUU) from 1972 to 2014 about cash, EU, budget, Europe, and GDP.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, the average budget deficit in the European Union was 3.4 percent. Nearly all countries from the CEE region (except for Bulgaria, Latvia, Slovenia) recorded a budget deficit in this period. The highest deficit was recorded in Romania (-9.9 percent of GDP). It was followed by Slovakia and Poland, respectively.

This statistic shows the budget balance of the European Union member states in 2023. In 2023, the national deficit of France amounted to approximately 154.8 billion euros, while Ireland's budget surplus was 7.5 billion euros in the same year.

This statistic shows the deficit and public debts of European Union (EU) member countries in the last quarter of 2023, as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It appears that the most in-debt country was Greece, with a deficit and public debt amounting to ***** percent of the national GDP.

Key information about European Union National Government Debt

• European Union National Government Debt reached 16,136.9 USD bn in Sep 2024, compared with 15,321.8 USD bn in the previous quarter.
• EU National Government Debt data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 2000 to Sep 2024.
• The data reached an all-time high of 16,136.9 USD bn in Sep 2024 and a record low of 4,554.4 USD bn in Jun 2001.

CEIC converts quarterly Government Debt into USD. Eurostat provides Government Debt in EUR based on ESA 2010. The Federal Reserve Board period end market exchange rate is used for currency conversions. European Union stands for EU27 excluding UK.


Related information about European Union National Government Debt

• In the latest reports, EU Consolidated Fiscal Balance recorded a deficit equal to 3.5 % of its Nominal GDP in Dec 2023.
• The country's Government debt accounted for 81.6 % of its Nominal GDP in Sep 2024.
• EU Nominal GDP reached 4,430.4 USD bn in Mar 2023.

This statistic shows the national debt in the member states of the European Union in the second quarter of 2024. The data refer to the entire state and are comprised of the debts of central government, provinces, municipalities, local authorities and social security. In the second quarter of 2024, Greece's national debt amounted to about 369.4 billion euros. National debt in the EU member states National or government debt is the debt owed by a central government. No country in the European Union is debt-free, although some are able to manage their debts better than others. Debt is influenced by the economic situation of a country, factors such as unemployment, the rate of inflation or the trade figures have a significant impact on its extent, and are, in turn, influenced by the national debt. The economic crisis has hit some EU countries harder than others; Spain, Ireland and Greece especially have been struggling economically since 2008. Greece’s national debt has skyrocketed over the past few years, and the same can be said about Spain and Ireland. Other EU countries, like France and the United Kingdom have been affected as well, albeit not as severely. The national debt of a country can be reduced by applying several measures: money can be borrowed (for example in the form of rescue packages), austerity programs can be enforced, taxes can be increased or central banks can inject liquidity into the economy through the implementation of quantitative easing policies. Some critics of the policy claim that this could lead to a higher level of inflation, which, if severe enough, could have a detrimental impact on living standards.

Graph and download economic data for Cash surplus/deficit (% of GDP) for Developing Countries in Europe and Central Asia (GCBALCASHGDZSECA) from 1990 to 2014 about Central Asia, cash, budget, Europe, and GDP.

Key information about EU Consolidated Fiscal Balance

• European Union Consolidated Fiscal Balance recorded a deficit equal to 650.539 USD bn in Dec 2023, compared with a deficit equal to 544.673 USD bn in the previous year.
• EU Consolidated Fiscal Balance data is updated yearly, available from Dec 1999 to Dec 2023, with an average ratio of -311.528 USD bn.
• The data reached an all-time high of -63.759 USD bn in Dec 2018 and a record low of -1,034.061 USD bn in Dec 2020.

CEIC converts annual Consolidated Fiscal Balance into USD. Consolidated Fiscal Balance is calculated as Revenue less Expenditure. Eurostat provides Consolidated Fiscal Balance in EUR. Federal Reserve Board average market exchange rate is used for currency conversions. European Union stands for EU27 excluding UK.

The long-term interest rate on government debt is a key indicator of the economic health of a country. The rate reflects financial market actors' perceptions of the creditworthiness of the government and the health of the domestic economy, with a strong and robust economic outlook allowing governments to borrow for essential investments in their economies, thereby boosting long-term growth.

The Euro and converging interest rates in the early 2000s

In the case of many Eurozone countries, the early 2000s were a time where this virtuous cycle of economic growth reduced the interest rates they paid on government debt to less than 5 percent, a dramatic change from the pre-Euro era of the 1990s. With the outbreak of the Global Financial Crisis and the subsequent deep recession, however, the economies of Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Ireland were seen to be much weaker than previously assumed by lenders. Interest rates on their debt gradually began to rise during the crisis, before rapidly increasing beginning in 2010, as first Greece and then Ireland and Portugal lost the faith of financial markets.

The Eurozone crisis

This market adjustment was initially triggered due to revelations by the Greek government that the country's budget deficit was much larger than had been previously expected, with investors seeing the country as an unreliable debtor. The crisis, which became known as the Eurozone crisis, spread to Ireland and then Portugal, as lenders cut-off lending to highly indebted Eurozone members with weak fundamentals. During this period there was also intense speculation that due to unsustainable debt loads, some countries would have to leave the Euro currency area, further increasing the interest on their debt. Interest rates on their debt began to come back down after ECB Chief Mario Draghi signaled to markets that the central bank would intervene to keep the states within the currency area in his famous "whatever it takes" speech in Summer 2012.

The return of higher interest rates in the post-COVID era

Since this period of extremely high interest rates on government debt for these member states, the interest they are charged for borrowing has shrunk considerably, as the financial markets were flooded with "cheap money" due to the policy measures of central banks in the aftermath of the financial crisis, such as near-zero policy rates and quantitative easing. As interest rates have risen to combat inflation since 2022, so have the interest rates on government debt in the Eurozone also risen, however, these rises are modest compared to during the Eurozone crisis.

Sampling Procedure Comment: Probability Sample: Multistage Stratified Random Sample

The statistic shows the budget balance in relation to GDP of the DACH countries in Europe between 2020 and 2024, with projections up until 2030. A positive value indicates a budget surplus, a negative value indicates a deficit. The DACH region includes Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. In 2024, Austria's deficit amounted to around 4.69 percent of GDP.