In 2013, the government deficit of both the euro area (EA18) and the EU28 decreased in absolute terms compared with 2012, while the government debt rose in both zones.
In its release of indicators covering the year 2013, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, announced that in the euro area the government deficit to GDP ratio decreased from 3.7% in 2012 to 3.0% in 2013, and in the EU283 from 3.9% to 3.3%.
On the other hand, in the euro area the government debt to GDP ratio increased from 90.7% at the end of 2012 to 92.6% at the end of 2013, and in the EU28 from 85.2% to 87.1%.
In 2013 Luxembourg (+0.1%) registered a government surplus, Germany was close to balance, and the lowest government deficits in percentage of GDP were recorded in Estonia (-0.2%), Denmark (-0.8%), Latvia (-1.0%) and Sweden (-1.1%). Ten Member States had deficits higher than 3% of GDP: Slovenia (-14.7%), Greece (-12.7%), Ireland (-7.2%), Spain (-7.1%), the United Kingdom (-5.8%), Cyprus (-5.4%), Croatia and Portugal (both -4.9%), France and Poland (both -4.3%).
At the end of 2013, the lowest ratios of government debt to GDP were recorded in Estonia (10.0%), Bulgaria (18.9%), Luxembourg (23.1%), Latvia (38.1%), Romania (38.4%), Lithuania (39.4%) and Sweden (40.6%). Sixteen Member States had government debt ratios higher than 60% of GDP, with the highest registered in Greece (175.1%), Italy (132.6%), Portugal (129.0 %), Ireland(123.7%), Cyprus (111.7%) and Belgium (101.5%).
Cf. also:
EU28 current account surplus 39.4 bn euro
Euro area international trade in goods surplus 13.6 bn euro
Eurostat: Significant range of regional unemployment rates in the EU28
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