In relative terms, the government deficit increased from 0.5% to 0.6% of GDP between 2018 and 2019, and government debt declined from 85.8% to 84.1% of GDP over the same period in the euro area, according to data released by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) on Wednesday 22 April.
In the Twenty-Seven (EU27), the government deficit ratio rose from 0.4% to 0.6% of GDP, and the government debt ratio decreased from 79.6% to 77.8% of GDP, between 2018 and 2019.
Eurostat updated these data on Thursday 23 April. In the fourth quarter of 2019, the seasonally adjusted government deficit was 0.7% of GDP in both the euro area and the EU27, unchanged in both areas compared with the third quarter.
At the end of 2019, government debt stood at 84.1% of GDP in the euro area, compared to 85.9% at the end of the previous quarter. In the EU27, the ratio decreased from 79.3% to 77.8% of GDP. Government debt was highest in Greece (176.6% of national GDP), Italy (134.8%) and Portugal (117.7%) and lowest in Estonia (8.4%), Bulgaria (20.4%) and Luxembourg (22.1%).
In 2019, three Member States - Luxembourg, Lithuania and Romania - recorded an increase in their government debt relative to GDP, while 24 others recorded a decrease. The largest decreases were observed in Ireland, Belgium, Portugal, Italy and Cyprus. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)