Government deficit and debt increased significantly in 2020 compared to 2019 in the eurozone and the European Union due to emergency measures to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, according to data released by the EU's statistical office (Eurostat) on Thursday 22 April.
The government deficit-to-GDP ratio increased in the eurozone from 0.6% in 2019 to 7.2% in 2020, as well as in the EU, from 0.5% to 6.9%. The same applies to the public debt to GDP ratio, which increased from 83.9% at the end of 2019 to 98.0% at the end of 2020 in the eurozone, and from 77.5% to 90.7% over the same period in the EU.
In 2020, all Member States reported a deficit. The highest deficits were recorded in Spain (-11.0%), Malta (-10.1%), Greece (-9.7%), Italy (-9.5%), Belgium (-9.4%), France and Romania (both -9.2%). In Germany, the observed deficit is -4.2% of GDP. Only Denmark (-1.1%) had a deficit below 3% of GDP.
At the end of 2020, the lowest ratios of public debt to GDP were found in Estonia (18.2%), Luxembourg (24.9%), Bulgaria (25.0%), the Czech Republic (38.1%) and Sweden (39.9%). Fourteen Member States had a government debt ratio above 60% of GDP, with the highest ratios recorded in Greece (205.6%), Italy (155.8%), Portugal (133.6%), Spain (120.0%), Cyprus (118.2%), France (115.7%) and Belgium (114.1%). German public debt reached 69.8% of GDP.
More info at: https://bit.ly/2QOpzbg (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)