Eurostat: "Euro Area Fiscal Deficit Last Year at 3.0% of GDP"... Revised Up from 2.9% in April Notification, 11 EU Member States at 3% or Higher

Luxembourg, European Union

In the 2025 fiscal data (the second notification of this year) released on October 21 by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union (EU), the government deficit in the euro area (countries using the euro) for 2025 stood at 3.0% of gross domestic product (GDP). A government deficit refers to the amount the government spent in excess of its revenue over a year. Eurostat compiled this figure based on data reported by member states in the second notification of this year. In the April notification, the euro area deficit for the same year was 2.9%. The overall EU deficit stood at 3.1%, unchanged from 2024, while the amount increased from 566.2 billion euros to 592.2 billion euros. The GDP of the 20 euro area countries in 2025 was 15.8768 trillion euros. The euro area deficit was also 3.0% in 2024, with the amount increasing from 466.7 billion euros to 475.8 billion euros.

In these statistics, the 'euro area' is based on the 20 countries (EA20) until the end of 2025. Bulgaria joined the euro area on January 1, 2026, bringing the total to 21 countries (EA21), and Eurostat compiles data up to 2025 based on the 20-country composition. On a 21-country basis as well, the 2025 deficit was 3.0% and debt was 87.3%. On a 20-country basis, government expenditure in 2025 stood at 49.8% of GDP, and revenue stood at 46.8%. Eurostat stated that both expenditure and revenue ratios increased compared to 2024. In 2024, expenditure was 49.3% and revenue was 46.2%.

Government debt increased. Euro area government debt rose from 86.6% of GDP at the end of 2024 to 87.7% at the end of 2025, reaching 13.9218 trillion euros. Across the entire EU, it increased from 80.3% to 81.5%, reaching 15.3867 trillion euros. In the April notification, euro area debt was 87.8% and EU debt was 81.7%. In this notification, both figures were slightly revised downward. The countries with the lowest debt were Estonia (24.0%), Luxembourg (26.0%), Denmark (27.2%), Bulgaria (29.9%), Ireland (34.8%), Sweden (35.1%), and Lithuania (39.3%). Conversely, 12 member states exceeded 60% of GDP, with Greece at 145.4%, Italy at 136.7%, France at 115.7%, Belgium at 108.1%, and Spain at 100.5% recording the highest levels. When the money a government spends each year exceeds its revenue, the difference accumulates as debt.

Among the 27 member states, only five recorded a surplus. Eurostat reported that Cyprus (+3.6%), Denmark (+2.9%), Greece (+2.0%), Ireland (+1.8%), and Portugal (+0.7%) registered surpluses. The remaining 22 countries recorded deficits, with 11 of them posting deficits of 3% or more of GDP. The countries with the highest deficits were Romania (-7.8%), Poland (-7.2%), Belgium (-5.2%), and France (-5.1%). These were followed by Hungary at 4.7%, Slovakia at 4.4%, Austria at 4.1%, Bulgaria at 4.0%, Finland at 3.8%, Italy at 3.1%, and Croatia at 3.0%. Germany stood at 2.9%, remaining just 0.1 percentage point below 3%.

Poland's deficit widened every year: 3.4% in 2022, 5.2% in 2023, 6.4% in 2024, and 7.2% in 2025. The amount in 2025 was 283.6 billion zlotys. Government expenditure was 50.9% of GDP, and revenue was 43.6%. Debt also rose over the same period from 48.8% to 59.6%. Some countries went in the opposite direction. Romania decreased from 9.2% in 2024 to 7.8%, France from 5.8% to 5.1%, Italy from 3.4% to 3.1%, and Hungary from 5.1% to 4.7%. On the other hand, Belgium increased from 4.4% to 5.2%, and Germany from 2.7% to 2.9%. Although France reduced its deficit, its debt ratio increased from 112.6% in 2024 to 115.7%. Finland had a deficit of 3.8%, and its debt ratio rose from 82.5% in 2024 to 88.4%. The three Baltic states kept their deficits below 3%, with Estonia at 2.0%, Latvia at 2.5%, and Lithuania at 1.8%. Although Lithuania's debt rose from 37.8% to 39.3%, it remains relatively low in the EU. Spain at 2.4%, the Netherlands at 1.6%, and Sweden at 1.6% were also below 3%.

Some countries saw their debt decline. Between 2022 and 2025, Greece dropped from 177.8% to 145.4%, Cyprus from 80.0% to 52.3%, Portugal from 111.2% to 89.2%, and Spain from 109.3% to 100.5%. Italy remained virtually unchanged, moving from 138.4% to 136.7%. Greece recorded surpluses in 2024 and 2025, Portugal from 2023 to 2025, Cyprus recorded surpluses in all four years, and Spain reduced its deficit from 4.6% to 2.4%. Because the debt ratio is debt divided by GDP, it decreases when GDP grows even if the absolute amount remains unchanged. In Greece, the debt amount in 2025 was 363.0 billion euros, slightly down from 368.0 billion euros in 2022.

Eurostat expressed a reservation regarding Bulgaria. It stated that it has reservations on the quality of the data reported by Bulgaria for 2025. This is due to ongoing discussions with the Bulgarian statistical authorities on how to record certain transactions by the Road Infrastructure Agency (Агенция Пътна инфраструктура) in national accounts (a statistical framework aggregating a national economy's revenue and expenditure under specific rules). Bulgaria recorded this amount in its 2025 deficit as 0.6% of GDP. Eurostat did not amend any data reported by the member states this time. Denmark was accompanied by a footnote. Eurostat stated that while the surplus figures for 2024 and 2025 are correct, the total revenue data for 2025 is not consistent with the government surplus, reflecting a difference due to a dividend correction.

On the same day, Eurostat also published quarterly statistics for the second quarter of this year. The seasonally adjusted government deficit for the euro area (21 countries) in the second quarter stood at 3.3% of GDP, slightly widening from 3.2% in the first quarter. The EU deficit rose from 3.1% in the first quarter to 3.5%. Euro area government revenue stood at 46.8% of GDP, and expenditure stood at 50.1%. In the first quarter, revenue was 46.9% and expenditure was 50.0%. Eurostat stated that while revenue itself increased by about 21 billion euros, GDP before adjusting for inflation (nominal GDP) increased more, causing the ratio to decrease, while expenditure increased by about 28 billion euros, causing the ratio to rise. In these quarterly statistics, Germany's second-quarter deficit was 4.1%, France's was 5.1%, Romania's was 9.2%, and Hungary's was 7.2%.

At the end of the second quarter, debt was 88.8% in the euro area and 82.9% in the EU. For the euro area, this was an increase from 88.4% at the end of the first quarter, compared with 87.3% a year earlier. In nominal terms, it amounted to 14.4381 trillion euros. Debt securities such as government bonds accounted for 84.5% of euro area government debt, while loans accounted for 13.1% and currency and deposits accounted for 2.4%. By country, Greece (140.8%), Italy (139.9%), France (119.1%), Belgium (110.2%), and Spain (101.4%) recorded the highest levels, while Estonia (26.1%), Denmark (27.1%), Luxembourg (28.2%), and Bulgaria (28.7%) recorded the lowest. Compared to the first quarter, 15 countries saw their debt ratios increase, 10 saw decreases, and the Netherlands and Spain remained unchanged. Poland, which saw the largest increase, reached 64.5%.

Sources (KST)

• Eurostat Euro indicators 「Euro area government deficit at 3.0% and EU at 3.1% of GDP」(2026-10-21) https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-euro-indicators/w/2-21102026-ap
• Eurostat Euro indicators 「Seasonally adjusted government deficit at 3.3% of GDP in the euro area」(2026-10-21) https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-euro-indicators/w/2-21102026-cp
• Eurostat Euro indicators 「Government debt at 88.8% of GDP in euro area」(2026-10-21) https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-euro-indicators/w/2-21102026-bp
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