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.

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.

Government Debt in European Union increased to 14543529 EUR Million in 2024 from 13901072 EUR Million in 2023. This dataset provides - European Union Government Debt- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

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.

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.

Euro Area recorded a Government Debt to GDP of 87.40 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product in 2024. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Euro Area Government Debt to GDP - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

The average level of government debt to GDP ratios in the European Union and the Euro currency area increased rapidly following the Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 and subsequent recession, peaking in the Eurozone at 93.2 percent of GDP. This figure was exceeded once more in 2020 due to increased borrowing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Eurozone average now being over 90% of yearly production. The debt to GDP ratio measures the stock of government debt which is yet to be paid off in relation to the Gross Domestic Product of a country or region, which is the monetary value of goods and services produced and sold in a year. This ratio gives a clearer picture of debt sustainability than by looking at the absolute value of debt, as a country with a large economy may be able to easily pay off debts which seem large in absolute terms, but are in fact small in comparison to GDP.

Graph and download economic data for Central government debt, total (% of GDP) for the Euro Area (GCDODTOTLGDZSEMU) from 1998 to 2022 about Euro Area, Europe, debt, government, and GDP.

Key information about European Union External Debt: % of GDP

• European Union External Debt accounted for 111.1 % of the country's Nominal GDP in 2023, compared with the ratio of 118.2 % in the previous year.
• EU External Debt: % of Nominal GDP data is updated yearly, available from Dec 2008 to Dec 2023.
• The data reached an all-time high of 136.7 % in Dec 2015 and a record low of 111.1 % in Dec 2023.

CEIC calculates External Debt as % of Nominal GDP from quarterly External Debt and quarterly Nominal GDP. European Central Bank provides External Debt in EUR. Eurostat provides Nominal GDP in EUR. External Debt as % of Nominal GDP covers Euro Area 20. External Debt as % of Nominal GDP prior to 2013 covers Euro Area 19.


Related information about European Union External Debt: % of GDP

• In the latest reports of EU, Current Account recorded a surplus of 133.2 USD bn in Dec 2024.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increased by 4.8 USD bn in Nov 2024.
• EU Direct Investment Abroad expanded by 7.2 USD bn in Nov 2024.
• Its Foreign Portfolio Investment increased by 239.3 USD bn in Sep 2024.
• The country's External Debt reached 18,601,546.0 in Sep 2024.
• The country's Nominal GDP was reported at 4,430.4 USD bn in Mar 2023.

Key information about EU External Debt

• European Union External Debt reached 18,601.5 USD bn in Sep 2024, compared with 17,837.7 USD bn in the previous quarter.
• EU External Debt: USD mn data is updated quarterly, available from Mar 2008 to Sep 2024.
• The data reached an all-time high of 18,779.1 USD bn in Sep 2021 and a record low of 13,821.6 USD bn in Jun 2010.

CEIC converts quarterly External Debt into USD. European Central Bank provides External Debt in EUR. The Federal Reserve Board period end market exchange rate is used for currency conversions. External Debt prior to Q1 2013 covers Euro Area 19.


Related information about EU External Debt

• In the latest reports of EU, Current Account recorded a surplus of 185.1 USD bn in Sep 2024.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) increased by 4.8 USD bn in Nov 2024.
• EU Direct Investment Abroad expanded by 7.2 USD bn in Nov 2024.
• Its Foreign Portfolio Investment increased by 239.3 USD bn in Sep 2024.
• The country's Nominal GDP was reported at 4,430.4 USD bn in Mar 2023.

Key information about European Union Private Debt: % of Nominal GDP

• European Union Private Debt accounted for 78.27 % of its Nominal GDP in Dec 2024, compared with a ratio of 78.60 % in the previous quarter
• EU Private Debt contribution to Nominal GDP ratio is updated quarterly, available from Sep 1997 to Dec 2024, with an average share of 88.81 %
• The data reached an all-time high of 104.24 % in Jun 2010 and a record low of 74.22 % in Sep 1997

CEIC calculates quarterly Private Debt as % of Nominal GDP from quarterly Private Debt and quarterly Nominal GDP. Private Debt is calculated as the sum of Loans to Non Financial Sector and Households. European Central Bank provides Private Debt in EUR. Eurostat provides Nominal GDP in EUR.

This statistic shows the national debt of the European Union and the euro area in relation to the gross domestic product (GDP) from 2020 to 2024, with projections up until 2030. In 2024, the national debt of the European Union amounted to approximately 82.5 percent of the gross domestic product.

Key information about European Union Total Debt: % of GDP

• European Union Total Debt accounted for 719.1 % of the country's GDP in 2022, compared with the ratio of 797.7 % in the previous year.
• EU Total Debt: % of GDP data is updated yearly, available from Dec 2001 to Dec 2022.
• The data reached an all-time high of 815.6 % in Dec 2020 and a record low of 547.8 % in Dec 2001.

CEIC calculates annual Total Debt as % of Nominal GDP from annual Total Debt and quarterly Nominal GDP. Total Debt is calculated as the Total Liabilities less Equity & Investment Fund Shares and Financial Derivatives. Eurostat provides Total Debt in EUR and Nominal GDP in EUR. European Union stands for EU27 excluding UK.

Key information about European Union Household Debt

• European Union Household Debt reached 6,956.2 USD bn in Jan 2025, compared with the reported number of 6,921.4 USD bn in the previous month
• EU Household Debt: USD mn data is updated monthly, available from Jan 1999 to Jan 2025
• The data reached an all-time high of 7,744.8 USD bn in Apr 2011 and a record low of 2,500.5 USD bn in Oct 2000

CEIC converts monthly Household Debt into USD. European Central Bank provides Household Debt in EUR. The Federal Reserve Board period end market exchange rate is used for currency conversions. Loans are used due to the lack of Flow of Funds statistics. Household Debt includes Mortgages and Consumer Loans.


Further information about European Union Household Debt

• In the latest reports, European Union Household Debt accounted for 44.1 % of the country's Nominal GDP in Dec 2024
• Money Supply M2 in European Union increased 16,206.2 USD bn YoY in Jan 2025
• European Union Foreign Exchange Reserves was measured at 297.5 USD bn in Jan 2025
• The Foreign Exchange Reserves equaled 1.4 Months of Import in Dec 2024
• European Union Domestic Credit reached 25,343.8 USD bn in Nov 2024, representing an increased of 0.7 % YoY

This statistic shows a forecast of the national debt of selected euro countries from 2020 to 2024 in relation to the gross domestic product (GDP). The national debt figures include the debt of the central state, the states, the communities and the parishes, as well as social security. In Greece, the national debt is estimated to amount 154.4 percent of the GDP in 2024.

This statistic shows the general gross debt of the European Union and the euro area in trillion euros from 2010 to 2023. In 2023, the debt of the European Union amounted to approximately 13.86 trillion euros.

Government Debt In the Euro Area increased to 13258118 EUR Million in 2024 from 12753756 EUR Million in 2023. This dataset provides - Euro Area Government Debt- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Historical chart and dataset showing European Union debt to gdp ratio by year from 1998 to 2022.

These data and syntax files can be used to replicate the published Paper in the Journal of European Union Politics by Katsanidou and Otjes "How the European debt crisis reshaped national political space: the case of Greece". The data come from the following sources: 1. CSES (2015) CSES Module 4: 2011-2016. DOI: 10.7804/cses.module4.2015-03-20 2. Preference Matcher’ consortium (www.preferencematcher.org) Gemenis K. and Triga V., data set Voting Advice Application for the Greece Parliamentary Elections May 2012, file: Greece_clean_parl_may.csv

The Abstract of the article: Where Mair (2000) saw a limited impact of Europeanisation on national party politics, other authors (e.g. Kriesi et al. 2008) proposed that in addition to the pre-existing economic left-right dimension a separate EU dimension structures the national political space. This article looks at the Greek bail-out during the European sovereign debt crisis to examine how Europeanisation can change the national political space. The bail-out came with memoranda that set the main lines of Greek economic policy for the coming years. Accepting these policies was connected with remaining in the eurozone. This restructured the political space: the economic and European integration form one dimension. A second relevant dimension focuses on cultural issues. The economic/European dimension is a stronger predictor of vote choice than the cultural dimension.

This table shows the evolution of the balance and debt of the government (also known as EMU balance or EMU debt) The Netherlands. This table gives the annual estimates of the government, broken down by contribution per subsector of the government. The government debt is specified by debt title: currency, short-term securities, bonds, short-term loans, long-term securities loans.

The government balance and public debt are within the European Union the key indicators for the health of public finances. In the Maastricht Treaty and the resulting growth and Stability pact stipulates that every six months Member States have the data on the balance and debt of their government must report to the The European Commission. It is stated that a deficit does not exceed 3 percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) and debt no more than 60 % of GDP. If the standards are exceeded and there are no particular circumstances behind this, The European Commission imposes sanctions. The figures are in line with the system of National Accounts.

Data available from: 1990 Frequency: discontinued

Status of the figures The figures since 1990 are final. The three most recent years have another (further) provisional character.

Changes as of 31 March 2011: Preliminary figures for 2010 are included. The EMU balance and debt table has been adjusted nationally. The way in which the contribution to the debt per subsector of the general government was calculated, it’s changed. This has been done to align with Eurostat’s methodology handles it. This reflects better the contribution per subsector to the public debt. This changes the amounts per subsector. The consolidated public debt does not change. In the case of consolidated debt, debts and receivables shall be counted between governments do not participate in the debt of the general government. For the subsectors of the general government, in this table, the contribution to the consolidated public debt is represented. The contribution of a subsector total government debt equals all debts of this subsector minus the claims on the other levels of government. As a result, the debt figures presented in this publication count the subsectors up to the debt of the general government as a whole. In the old calculation of the contribution per subsector, another is the starting point for consolidation is used. There was only the blame. non-public sectors contribute to the contribution of each subsector. As a result, for example, the debt contribution of the social insurance companies misappraised. In 2009 the debt contribution of the social insurance institutions by this method and that of the central government. Other years in reverse. This is because the borrowing social insurance institutions from the State. The Empire must do this. borrow money from other sectors. In the old set-up, this debt was this is the government’s debt contribution. In the new set-up as a debt contribution of the social insurance institutions. In addition to the method change for the debt contribution, the terms EMU balance are and -debt replaced by the terms government balance and debt.

When are new figures coming? Not applicable.