In the second quarter, the seasonally-adjusted government deficit stood at 2.7% of GDP in the euro area, identical to the figure for the first quarter, and at 2.9% in the European Union, compared with 2.8% in the previous quarter, according to data published by the EU’s statistical office (Eurostat), on Tuesday 21 October.
Of the 26 Member States for which data are available, the government deficit remains above 3% of national GDP in the following thirteen countries: Slovakia (3.1%), Finland (3.7%), Bulgaria (4.0%), Belgium (4.9%), Croatia (4.2%), Austria (4.5%), France (5.4%), Poland (8.5%), Romania (8.7%), Cyprus (3.6%), Denmark (2.9%), Greece (2.7%) and Portugal (0.7%).
According to updated Eurostat figures for 2024, the average ratio of government deficit to GDP was 3.1% in both the euro area and the EU.
The countries with the highest surpluses were Denmark (+4.5%), Cyprus (+4.1%) and Ireland (+4.0%).
The 12 countries with deficits in excess of 3% of national GDP are as follows: Romania (9.3%), Poland (6.5%), France (5.8%), Slovakia (5.5%), Hungary (5.0%), Austria (4.7%), Belgium and Finland (4.4% each), Malta (3.5%), Italy (3.4%), Spain (3.2%) and Bulgaria (3.0%).
Debt. Also according to Eurostat, at the end of June 2025, the ratio of government debt to GDP in the euro area stood at 88.2%, up from 87.7% at the end of the first quarter of 2025. In the EU, this ratio also rose, from 81.5% to 81.9% of GDP.
The highest levels of government debt in relation to national GDP were recorded in Greece (151.2%), Italy (138.3%), France (115.8%), Belgium (106.2%) and Spain (103.4%). The lowest ratios were observed in Estonia (23.2%), Luxembourg (25.1%), Bulgaria (26.3%) and Denmark (29.7%).
For 2024, according to updated Eurostat data, average government debt stood at 87.1% of GDP in the euro area and 80.7% in the EU. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)