First quarter of 2018 compared with fourth quarter of 2017 – Government debt slightly up to 86.8% of GDP in euro area – Down to 81.5% of GDP in EU28
At the end of the first quarter of 2018, the government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area (EA19) stood at 86.8%, compared with 86.7% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2017. In the EU28, the ratio decreased from 81.6% to 81.5%. Compared with the first quarter of 2017, the government debt to GDP ratio fell in both the euro area (from 89.2% to 86.8%) and the EU28 (from 83.6% to 81.5%).