Belgium ranks fourth in Europe in terms of debt

Key information

• Public debt levels remained stable in both the eurozone (88.2 percent) and the EU (81.6 percent).
• Debt securities make up the majority of public debt, with 84.0 percent in the eurozone and 83.6 percent in the EU.
• Significant variations in public debt ratios between EU member states were observed, with Greece recording the highest ratio at 158.2 percent.

Public debt levels

General government gross debt as a percentage of GDP remained stable in both the euro area (EA20) and the EU, at 88.2 percent and 81.6 percent respectively at the end of the third quarter of 2024. This figure represents a slight decrease from the previous year for the Eurozone (88.4 percent to 88.2 percent), but a slight increase for the EU (81.5 percent to 81.6 percent). hundred).

The composition of debt at the end of the third quarter of 2024 showed that debt securities made up the majority of public debt in both regions, with 84.0 percent in the euro area and 83.6 percent in the EU. Loans accounted for 13.4 percent and 13.9 percent of total debt, respectively, while cash and deposits accounted for a smaller share (2.6 percent and 2.5 percent).

Variations

Quarterly data on intergovernmental lending (IGL) is also published due to the involvement of EU member state governments in lending to certain countries. At the end of the third quarter of 2024, LGI represented 1.5 percent of GDP in the euro area and 1.3 percent in the EU.

Significant variations in public debt ratios between EU member states have been observed. Greece (158.2 percent), Italy (136.3 percent), France (113.8 percent), Belgium (105.6 percent) and Spain (104.3 percent ) recorded the highest ratios, while Estonia (24.0 percent), Bulgaria (24.6 percent) and Luxembourg (26.6 percent) had the lowest.

The comparison between the second quarter of 2024 and the third quarter revealed that thirteen member states experienced an increase in their debt-to-GDP ratio, while fourteen recorded a decrease. Bulgaria (+2.4 percentage points), Romania (+2.0 pp), Finland and France (+1.4 pp each), Latvia (+1.3 pp), Poland (+ 1.2 pp), Czechia and Lithuania (+1.0 pp each) recorded the largest increases. Conversely, Portugal (-3.2 pp), Slovenia (-2.6 pp), Greece (-1.8 pp), Malta and the Netherlands (-1.1 pp), and Spain (-1.0 pp) recorded the largest declines.