BRUSSELS, (Pakistan Point News - 22nd Jul, 2026) The euro area's government debt-to-GDP ratio rose to 88.9 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2026 from 87.7 percent at the end of the previous quarter, while the European Union's ratio increased to 82.9 percent from 81.8 percent, Eurostat said on Wednesday.
Compared with the first quarter of 2025, the debt-to-GDP ratio rose from 87.2 percent to 88.9 percent in the euro area and from 81.4 percent to 82.9 percent across the EU.
At the end of the first quarter, government debt consisted of 84.3 percent debt securities, 13.2 percent loans and 2.5 percent Currency and deposits in the euro area. In the EU, the corresponding shares were 83.6 percent, 13.9 percent and 2.5 percent.
The quarterly data on intergovernmental lending (IGL) as a percentage of GDP at the end of Q1 2026 stood at 1.3 percent in the euro area and at 1.1 percent in the EU.
The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of Q1 2026 were recorded in Greece (143.5 percent), Italy (138.9 percent), France (117.6 percent), Belgium (109.1 percent) and Spain (101.6 percent), and the lowest ratios were recorded in Estonia (25.2 percent), Denmark (26.8 percent), Bulgaria (28.5 percent) and Luxembourg (29.2 percent).
Compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, 17 Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of Q1 2026, eight registered a decrease, and the ratio remained stable in Latvia and Czechia.
The largest increases in the ratio were observed in Hungary and Lithuania, while the largest decreases were recorded in Greece.
