Overview
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, the general government gross debt to GDP ratio in the euro area (EA20) stood at 87.8%, a decrease compared with 88.4% at the end of the third quarter of 2025. In the EU, the ratio also decreased from 82.0% to 81.7%.
Compared with the fourth quarter of 2024, the government debt to GDP ratio increased in both the euro area (from 87.0% to 87.8%) and the EU (from 80.7% to 81.7%).
At the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, the general government debt was made up of 84.1% debt securities in the euro area and 83.5% in the EU, 13.5% loans in the euro area and 14.2% in the EU and 2.4% currency and deposits in both the euro area and the EU.
Due to the involvement of EU Member States’ governments in lending to certain Member States, quarterly data on intergovernmental lending (IGL) are also published. The IGL as percentage of GDP at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025 stood at 1.3% in the euro area and at 1.1% in the EU.
These data are released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Euro area and EU general government gross debt
2024Q4
2025Q3
2025Q4
Euro area 20
(million euro)
13 264 199
13 857 939
13 911 079
(% of GDP)
87.0
88.4
87.8
(million euro)
327 856
353 228
330 705
(% of total debt)
2.5
2.5
2.4
(million euro)
11 139 267
11 660 890
11 700 424
(% of total debt)
84.0
84.1
84.1
(million euro)
1 797 076
1 843 822
1 879 951
(% of total debt)
13.5
13.3
13.5
(million euro)
217 391
219 845
213 439
(% of GDP)
1.4
1.4
1.3
(million euro)
13 289 170
13 889 758
13 945 708
(% of GDP)
86.6
87.9
87.4
(million euro)
327 856
353 228
333 159
(% of total debt)
2.5
2.5
2.4
(million euro)
11 160 697
11 689 032
11 728 786
(% of total debt)
84.0
84.2
84.1
(million euro)
1 800 617
1 847 498
1 883 763
(% of total debt)
13.5
13.3
13.5
(million euro)
217 391
219 845
213 439
(% of GDP)
1.4
1.4
1.3
EU
(million euro)
14 548 671
15 255 718
15 374 367
(% of GDP)
80.7
82.0
81.7
(million euro)
354 022
383 648
361 592
(% of total debt)
2.4
2.5
2.4
(million euro)
12 131 446
12 751 687
12 830 648
(% of total debt)
83.4
83.6
83.5
(million euro)
2 063 202
2 120 383
2 182 127
(% of total debt)
14.2
13.9
14.2
(million euro)
217 391
219 845
213 439
(% of GDP)
1.2
1.2
1.1
Government debt at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025 by Member State
The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025 were recorded in Greece (146.1%), Italy (137.1%), France (115.6%), Belgium (107.9%) and Spain (100.7%), and the lowest ratios were recorded in Estonia (24.1%), Luxembourg (26.5%), Denmark (27.9%) and Bulgaria (29.9%).
Compared with the third quarter of 2025, twelve Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, fourteen registered a decrease, and the ratio remained stable in Malta. The largest increases in the ratio were observed in Latvia and the Netherlands (both +2.1 percentage points – pp), 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).
Compared with the fourth quarter of 2024, nineteen Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025 and eight Member States registered a decrease. The largest increases in the ratio 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 observed in Greece (-8.0 pp), Cyprus (-7.7 pp), Ireland (-5.4 pp), Portugal (-3.8 pp) and Denmark (-2.6 pp).
Tables
General government gross debt by Member State
General government gross debt
Millions of national currency
% of GDP
Difference in pp of GDP 2025Q4 compared with:
2024Q4
2025Q3
2025Q4
2024Q4
2025Q3
2025Q4
2024Q4
2025Q3
EUR
13 264 199
13 857 939
13 911 079
87.0
88.4
87.8
0.8
-0.5
EUR
13 289 170
13 889 758
13 945 708
86.6
87.9
87.4
0.9
-0.5
EUR
14 548 671
15 255 718
15 374 367
80.7
82.0
81.7
1.0
-0.3
EUR
644 199
680 800
692 461
103.9
107.1
107.9
3.9
0.8
EUR*
24 977
31 825
34 635
23.8
28.4
29.9
6.0
1.5
CZK
3 488 500
3 623 391
3 786 250
43.3
43.1
44.3
1.0
1.2
DKK
893 977
901 273
855 200
30.5
29.6
27.9
-2.6
-1.7
EUR
2 693 827
2 789 528
2 838 239
62.2
63.0
63.5
1.3
0.5
EUR
9 353
9 414
10 035
23.5
22.8
24.1
0.6
1.3
EUR
215 575
208 912
209 902
38.3
32.8
32.9
-5.4
0.1
EUR
364 964
367 847
362 925
154.2
149.8
146.1
-8.0
-3.6
EUR
1 620 573
1 709 349
1 698 225
101.6
103.1
100.7
-1.0
-2.5
EUR
3 306 097
3 484 062
3 460 465
112.6
117.2
115.6
2.9
-1.6
EUR
49 284
51 826
52 371
57.4
57.1
56.3
-1.0
-0.8
EUR
2 967 004
3 081 032
3 095 888
134.7
137.5
137.1
2.4
-0.4
EUR
21 814
21 696
20 078
62.7
60.3
55.0
-7.7
-5.3
EUR
18 801
18 965
20 174
46.2
44.8
46.9
0.6
2.1
EUR
29 992
33 635
33 259
38.0
40.6
39.5
1.5
-1.2
EUR
22 638
24 293
23 695
26.3
27.5
26.5
0.2
-1.1
HUF
59 866 887
64 136 845
64 911 638
73.5
75.0
74.6
1.1
-0.4
EUR
10 621
11 189
11 397
45.9
46.4
46.4
0.5
0.0
EUR
491 055
493 301
523 541
43.8
42.3
44.4
0.6
2.1
EUR
395 051
424 012
418079
80.0
83.5
81.5
1.6
-1.9
PLN
2 012 640
2 221 783
2 335 153
54.8
57.9
59.7
4.8
1.8
EUR
270 902
294 508
275 063
93.5
97.4
89.7
-3.8
-7.8
RON
964 808
1 096 295
1 137 324
54.8
58.8
59.3
4.5
0.6
EUR
44 755
47 047
46 324
66.4
67.7
65.7
-0.7
-2.0
EUR
77 735
83 949
83 957
59.7
62.3
61.4
1.7
-0.9
EUR
227 339
242 412
248 433
82.4
86.9
88.5
6.2
1.6
SEK
2 186 716
2 165 528
2 305 401
34.2
33.2
35.1
0.9
1.9
NOK
2 861 930
2 315 139
2 997 091
53.2
41.8
54.3
1.1
12.5
General government gross debt by Member State
Components of general government gross debt, in % of GDP
IGL (assets)
Currency and deposits
Debt Securities
Loans
% of GDP
2025Q4
2025Q4
2025Q4
2025Q4
2.1
73.9
11.9
1.3
2.1
73.5
11.8
1.3
1.9
68.2
11.6
1.1
0.4
93.4
14.0
1.2
2.1
24.4
3.3
0.0
0.4
40.1
3.7
0.0
0.6
25.1
2.2
0.0
0.4
50.1
13.0
1.4
0.3
14.1
9.7
1.2
3.9
22.2
6.7
0.6
3.1
39.5
103.5
0.0
0.3
89.8
10.5
1.6
1.4
103.4
10.7
1.5
0.1
41.5
14.7
0.0
7.6
115.4
14.1
1.8
0.5
31.8
22.7
0.9
1.5
42.4
2.9
0.0
0.2
32.6
6.6
0.0
0.4
22.6
3.5
0.7
0.7
65.8
8.1
0.0
1.6
40.8
4.0
0.8
0.2
37.3
6.9
1.1
0.4
72.4
8.8
1.2
0.3
43.6
15.7
0.0
16.5
51.7
21.5
0.2
1.4
47.3
10.7
0.0
0.3
55.0
10.4
1.5
0.1
54.9
6.4
1.4
0.3
67.1
21.1
1.4
2.5
20.8
11.8
0.0
–
16.4
37.9
–
Notes for users
Methods and definitions
Quarterly data on government debt are collected from the Member States according to European System of Accounts (ESA 2010), see Annex B, ESA 2010 transmission programme, and refer to the Maastricht debt definition, used in the context of the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP). Annual EDP data, last notified in April 2026, are the subject of a thorough verification by Eurostat.
The general government gross debt is defined as the consolidated gross debt of the whole general government sector outstanding at the end of the quarter (at face value). General government debt consists of liabilities of general government in the following financial instruments: currency and deposits (AF.2), debt securities (AF.3) and loans (AF.4), as defined in ESA 2010.
The debt to GDP ratio is calculated for each quarter using the sum of quarterly GDP for the four last quarters. Quarterly data on GDP are the most recent ones transmitted by the EU Member States. While quarterly debt figures are consistent with annual debt figures at coinciding publications, differences between quarterly and annual data occur at non-coinciding publications. Differences between annual and quarterly GDP figures also occur. For this release, the quarterly GDP for the EU and euro area aggregates and France have been adjusted to the annual GDP transmitted in the context of the Excessive Deficit Procedure.
For the purpose of proper consolidation of general government debt and to provide users with information, Eurostat publishes data on government loans (IGL) to other EU governments. The concepts and definitions are based on ESA 2010 and on the rules relating to the statistics for the EDP. The data covered is the stock of loans and partly deposits related to claims on other EU Member States, including loans made through the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). The valuation basis is the stock of loans at face value outstanding at end of each quarter. From the first quarter of 2011 onwards, the intergovernmental lending figures relate mainly to lending to Greece, Ireland and Portugal and include loans made by the EFSF.
For stock data such as general government debt, end of period exchange rates are used in the compilation of the EU aggregates. For flow data, such as GDP, average exchange rates are used. The EU aggregates, denominated in euro, can fluctuate as a result of exchange rate movements between the euro and other EU currencies.
Country-specific metadata are published.
Geographical Information
Up to 31 December 2025, the euro area included Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland (EA20). From 1 January 2026, the euro area also includes Bulgaria (EA21).
The aggregate data series commented on in this Euro indicator release refer to the official composition of the euro area in the most recent quarter for which data are available. Thus, Euro indicator releases with data up to the fourth quarter of 2025 comment on EA20 series, while releases with data for the first quarter of 2026 onwards will comment on EA21 series.
The European Union includes Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden (EU27).
For more information