site.btaBulgaria Records Highest Government Deficit, Lowest Government Debt to GDP in EU, Q1 2024

In the first quarter of 2024, the seasonally adjusted general government deficit to GDP ratio stood at -5.6% in Bulgaria, according to Eurostat data released on Monday. Thus, Bulgaria's budget deficit to GDP ratio ranks among the highest in the EU, while only Hungary (-6%) and Romania (-7%) have higher deficits.

Compared to the previous quarter, the indicator for Bulgaria changed by -9.1 percentage points, which is the largest negative change among the countries covered by the statistics. 

At the same time, Bulgaria records 22,6% of government debt to GDP at the end of the first quarter of 2024, which is the lowest index among the EU countries.

The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of the first quarter of 2024 were recorded in Greece (159.8%), Italy (137.7%), France (110.8%), Spain (108.9%), Belgium (108.2%) and Portugal (100.4%).