In the euro area the government debt to GDP ratio decreased from 90.8% at the end of 2022 to 88.6% at the end of 2023, and in the EU from 83.4% to 81.7%.
In this release, Eurostat is providing government deficit and debt data for the years 2020-2023, based on figures reported by EU member states in the first notification in 2024, for the application of the excessive deficit procedure (EDP). This notification is based on the ESA 2010 system of national accounts. This release also includes data on government expenditure and revenue.
In 2023, all member states, except Cyprus and Denmark (both +3.1%), Ireland (+1.7%) and Portugal (+1.2%), reported a deficit. The highest deficits were recorded in Italy (‑7.4%), Hungary (-6.7%) and Romania (‑6.6%). Eleven member states had deficits higher than 3% of GDP.
At the end of 2023, the lowest ratios of government debt to GDP were recorded in Estonia (19.6%), Bulgaria (23.1%), Luxembourg (25.7%), Denmark (29.3%), Sweden (31.2%) and Lithuania (38.3%).
Thirteen member states had government debt ratios higher than 60% of GDP, with the highest registered in Greece (161.9%), Italy (137.3%), France (110.6%), Spain (107.7%) and Belgium (105.2%).
In 2023, government expenditure in the euro area was equivalent to 50.0% of GDP and government revenue to 46.4%. The figures for the EU were 49.4% and 45.9%, respectively. Government revenue and expenditure ratios decreased both in the euro area and the EU, compared to 2022.
