Brussels, 24/07/2012 (Agence Europe) - As at the end of March 2012, public debt in eurozone nations was higher than at the end of 2011, despite the current belt-tightening, according to figures released on Monday 23 July by the European Union's Statistical Office (Eurostat).
In the first quarter of this year, public debt rose by 0.9% on average to 88.2% of GDP in the eurozone, with only Greece and Finland managing to reduce their debt as a proportion of GDP (in Greece's case from 165.3% to 132.4%). Greece remains the most highly indebted eurozone country, ahead of Italy (123.3%), Portugal (111.7%), Ireland (108.5%) and Belgium (101.8%). In the EU as a whole, things are little better, with debt reaching 83.4% of GDP in the first quarter of 2012, compared with 82.5% in the fourth quarter of 2011. In Q112, 21 member states saw a rise in debt as a proportion of GDP, with only Denmark, Hungary, Poland and Sweden joining Finland and Greece in managing to reduce their debt ratio.
The debt figures include member states' contributions to the bailout packages for struggling eurozone nations. At the end of Q112, loans to struggling eurozone nations accounted for 1.2% of GDP in the eurozone and 0.9% in the EU27. (EL/transl.fl)