Spain registered a public debt equivalent to 105.3% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2023.positioning itself as the fifth most indebted country in the European Union, according to data released by Eurostat. The community average debt stood at 81.5%, which places Spain clearly above this average.
Although the country managed to reduce its debt ratio compared to the previous quarter (106.3%) and the same period in 2023 (108.8%), it is still far from the levels of the eurozone (88.1%). . Only Greece, Italy, France and Belgium recorded higher debt to GDP figures.
By country, the higher levels of public debt In the second quarter of 2023 they corresponded to Greece, with 163.6% of GDP, followed by Italy (137%), France (112.2%), Belgium (108%), Spain (105.3%) and Portugal (100.6%). At the opposite extreme, the lowest debt ratios were recorded in Bulgaria (22.1%), Estonia (23.8%) and Luxembourg (26.8%).
Compared to the previous quarter, nine Member States saw their debt increase, while seventeen saw a reduction. Denmark was the only country in which the debt level remained stable. The most notable increases occurred in Finlandwhich added 2 percentage points, followed by Austria and Italy (1.8 points), France (1.6 points) and Portugal (1.2 points). In contrast, the most significant falls occurred in Cyprus (2.1 points less), Croatia (2 points), Greece (1.8 points), Lithuania (1.7 points) and Spain, which reduced its debt by 0.9 points.
In terms of public deficit, Poland led with the largest deviation, reaching 8.1% of GDP, followed by Romania (7.1%), France and Slovakia (both with 5.5%) and Finland (5.4%). %). On the contrary, Cyprus (4.6%), Denmark (3.3%) and Ireland (3.1%) stood out with the highest surpluses in the European bloc.
Debt in the European Union as a whole also experienced a slight increase in the second quarter of 2023, going from 81.3% to 81.5% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In parallel, The EU deficit showed a similar trend, rising from 2.9% in March to 3.1% at the end of Juneaccording to data published by Eurostat. These increases reflect slight pressure on public finances in the community bloc, in a context in which several countries are still struggling to contain their debt and deficit levels.
Debt securities represented the majority of it, both in the euro zone and in the entire bloc (84% and 83.6%, respectively); followed by loans (13.4% and 13.9%), foreign exchange and deposits (2.5% in both regions) and loans between Member States (1.5% and 1.3%).
Deficit above average
Regarding the public deficit, Spain closed the second quarter with 3.2%, just one tenth more than the EU average (3.1%) and two tenths above that of the eurozone (3%). Although the difference with the European average is small, the country’s position remains unfavorable. Among the countries with the largest deficits, Poland (-8.1%), Romania (-7.1%) and Slovakia and France (both with 5.5%) stand out.
On the other hand, Cyprus (4.6%), Denmark (3.3%) and Ireland (3.1%) obtained the most relevant surpluses in this period. In total, at the end of 2023, ten EU countries exceeded the 3% deficit threshold, the level at which Brussels can activate excessive deficit procedures.
Regarding public finances, the data reveal that in 2023 public spending in the eurozone represented 49.5% of GDP, while income reached 45.9%. In the EU as a whole, these figures were 49.0% and 45.5%, respectively.
In turn, in the block as a whole, public income grew by one tenth, up to 45.7%; and public spending increased four tenths, reaching 48.9%.
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