site.btaBulgaria Had One of EU's Highest Increases in Debt-to-GDP Ratio Y/Y

Bulgaria Had One of EU's Highest  Increases in Debt-to-GDP Ratio Y/Y

Brussels, At the end of the third quarter of 2016, the government debt to GDP ratio in the EU28 decreased to 83.3 per cent from 84.2 per cent in the second quarter. The decrease in the euro area was to 90.1 per cent from 91.2 per cent, according to seasonally adjusted Eurostat data.

Compared with the third quarter of 2015, the government debt to GDP ratio decreased both in the EU (from 85.9 per cent to 83.3 per cent) and in the euro area (from 91.5 per cent to 90.1 per cent).

The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of the third quarter of 2016 were recorded in Greece (176.9 per cent), Portugal (133.4 per cent) and Italy (132.7 per cent), and the lowest in Estonia (9.6 per cent), Luxembourg (21.5 per cent) and Bulgaria (28.7 per cent).

Compared with the third quarter of 2015, Bulgaria had one of the EU's highest increases in their debt to GDP ratio (+2.1 percentage points) at the end of the third quarter of 2016, after Greece (+4.4 pp), Lithuania (+3.1 pp), Portugal (+2.9 pp). The largest decreases were recorded in Ireland (-8.5 pp), the Netherlands (-4.3 pp) and Hungary (-3.2 pp).