What EU country reported the highest government deficit in Q3 2024?

Bulgaria reported the highest seasonally adjusted general government deficit to GDP ratio in the European Union in the third quarter of 2024, of -8.7%, new data from Eurostat has revealed.

Other countries to report a high deficit to GDP ratio in the quarter included Romania (-8.6%), Poland (-6.7%), France (-6.3%), Finland (-5.3%) and Hungary (-4.8%).

At the other end of the scale, a number of EU countries reported a surplus, with Ireland leading the way (+14.5%), followed by Cyprus (+4.9%), Denmark (+2.7), Portugal and Greece (both +2.2%), and the Netherlands (+0.1%).

At EU level, the seasonally adjusted general government deficit to GDP ratio stood at -2.9% in the third quarter, while in the euro area it was -2.6%.

Government revenue in euro area

In terms of government revenue, the euro area saw an increase to 47.0% of GDP in the third quarter of 2024, up from 46.5% in the previous quarter, which was driven by higher government revenues and an increase in nominal GDP, Eurostat noted.

In absolute terms, government revenue in the euro area rose by approximately €35 billion when compared to the second quarter of 2024. Government expenditure, however, remained steady at 49.6% of GDP in the euro area, showing no change from the previous quarter despite an increase in absolute terms of around €18 billion in government expenditure.

Similarly, in the EU, total government revenue increased from 46.0% of GDP in the second quarter to 46.4% in the third quarter of 2024. In the same period, total expenditure rose slightly, from 49.2% to 49.3% of GDP.

No data was available for Italy, and all data shown, with the exception of Sweden and Greece, is provisional. Read more here.

Seasonally adjusted general government surplus (+) and deficit (-) by EU member state, Q3 2024