The debt-to-GDP ratio fell to 87.8% in the euro area in the fourth quarter of last year, down from 88.4% in the previous quarter, new data from Eurostat has revealed.
In the EU as a whole, the debt-to-GDP ratio decreased from 82.0% to 81.7%, the data showed.
Compared with the same period the previous year, however, the debt-to-GDP ratio increased in both the euro area and EU – the euro area ratio rose from 87.0% to 87.8%, while the EU ratio increased from 80.7% to 81.7% over the same period.
Total general government debt in the euro area reached about €13.9 trillion as of the fourth quarter of last year, while in the EU, it reached about €15.4 trillion. Debt securities accounted for the largest share of government debt in both areas, at around 84%. Loans accounted for around 13% to 14%, while currency and deposits made up about 2% to 3%.
Member States
Eurostat data also show notable differences between Member States. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, Greece recorded a debt-to-GDP ratio of 146.1%. Italy recorded 137.1%, France 115.6%, Belgium 107.9%, and Spain 100.7%.
The lowest debt-to-GDP ratios were recorded in Estonia at 24.1%, Luxembourg at 26.5%, Denmark at 27.9%, and Bulgaria at 29.9%.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, some 12 countries recorded increases in their debt ratios, fourteen recorded decreases, and Malta remained unchanged. The largest increases were recorded in Latvia and the Netherlands (both +2.1 percentage points), Sweden (+1.9 pp), Poland (+1.8 pp), Finland (+1.6 pp) and Bulgaria (+1.5 pp).
The largest decreases were recorded in Portugal (-7.8 pp), Cyprus (-5.3 pp), Greece (-3.6 pp) and Spain (-2.5 pp).
On a year-on-year basis, meanwhile, i.e. compared with the fourth quarter of 2024, some 19 Member States recorded increases in debt-to-GDP ratio, and eight recorded decreases.
The largest increases were recorded in Finland (+6.2 pp), Bulgaria (+6.0 pp), Poland (+4.8 pp), Romania (+4.5 pp), Belgium (+3.9 pp), France (+2.9 pp) and Italy (+2.4 pp). The largest decreases were recorded in Greece (-8.0 pp), Cyprus (-7.7 pp), Ireland (-5.4 pp), Portugal (-3.8 pp) and Denmark (-2.6 pp). Read more here.
