In the first quarter of 2023, the seasonally adjusted ratio of general government deficit to GDP stood at -3.2% in the euro area, compared with -4.7% at the end of 2022, according to data published by the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) on Friday 21 July.
In the EU, the general government deficit stood at -3.0% in the first quarter of 2023, compared with -4.7% in the previous quarter.
Of the 23 Member States for which data is available, the highest deficits were recorded in Hungary (-11.1%), Romania (-6.0%) and France (-5.1%), while Ireland (3.1%) and Portugal (2.8%) recorded a budget surplus. In Germany, the deficit was -2.2% in the first quarter and -1.9% in Spain.
The fall in the deficit compared with the end of 2022 is due to the fall in total expenditure and the growth in nominal GDP. Measures to mitigate the impact of high energy prices had a strong negative impact on public finance balances in the second half of 2022.
Public debt. At the end of the first quarter, the ratio of public debt to GDP in the euro area stood at 91.2%, compared with 91.4% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, again according to Eurostat.
In the EU, the ratio also decreased from 83.8% to 83.7% over the same period.
The highest ratios were recorded in Greece (168.3%), Italy (143.5%), Portugal (113.8%), Spain (112.8%), France (112.4%) and Belgium (107.4%), while the lowest were observed in Estonia (17.2%), Bulgaria (22.5%), Luxembourg (28.0%) and Denmark (29.4%). In Germany, public debt has been reduced to 65.9%.
The slight fall in the ratio of public debt to GDP is due to GDP growth outweighing that of public debt in absolute terms. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)