Bulgaria maintained one of the lowest public debt-to-GDP ratios in the EU at 22.9 % in 2023, while the overall public deficit in the euro area and the EU increased slightly. The public deficit increased to 3.6 % of GDP in the euro area and 3.5 % in the EU, while public debt levels declined across the region, Novinite reports.
The ratio of government budget deficit to GDP will increase slightly in both the euro area and the European Union (EU) in 2023, according to Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU. In the eurozone, the ratio rose from 3.5 per cent in 2022 to 3.6 per cent, and in the EU from 3.2 per cent to 3.5 per cent. However, the ratio of public debt to GDP fell: in the euro area from 89.5 per cent at the end of 2022 to 87.4 per cent at the end of 2023, and in the EU from 82.5 per cent to 80.8 per cent.
These figures, based on the national reports of EU Member States in their second notification for 2024 on the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP), cover the period from 2020 to 2023 and are consistent with the ESA 2010 system of national accounts.
Most EU countries recorded deficits in 2023, except Denmark (+3.3%), Cyprus (+2.0%), Ireland (+1.5%) and Portugal (+1.2%). The largest deficits were recorded in Italy (-7.2%), Hungary (-6.7%) and Romania (-6.5%), with ten Member States exceeding the deficit threshold of 3% of GDP.
Public debt ratios varied widely across the EU at the end of 2023. Estonia (20.2 per cent), Bulgaria (22.9 per cent) and Luxembourg (25.5 per cent) had the lowest ratios, while Greece (163.9 per cent), Italy (134.8 per cent) and France (109.9 per cent) had the highest. In total, 13 Member States had debt ratios above 60 per cent of GDP.
Public expenditure in the euro area for 2023 totalled 49.5 % of GDP and revenues 45.9 %, compared to 49.0 % and 45.5 % respectively in the EU. The ratio of revenues to expenditures has decreased compared to 2022.
Eurostat has expressed concern about the quality of Estonia’s data for 2023 due to problems with the timing of reporting military expenditure, which affects the deficit by about 0.4 per cent of GDP. This issue is being discussed with the Estonian authorities for future corrections.
