by KG/EUROPA At the end of the third quarter of 2014, the government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area (EA18) stood at 92.1%, compared with 92.7% at the end of the second quarter of 2014. In the EU28, the ratio decreased from 87.0% to 86.6%. This decrease in the EU28 government debt to GDP ratio comes after fifteen consecutive quarters of increase. Compared with the third quarter of 2013, the government debt to GDP ratio rose in both the euro area (from 91.1% to 92.1%) and the EU28 (from 85.3% to 86.6%). At the end of the third quarter of 2014, debt securities accounted for 79.3% of euro area and for 81.0% of EU28 general government debt, loans for 17.9% and 15.3% respectively and currency and deposits for 2.8% and 3.7%. Due to the involvement of EU governments in financial assistance to certain Member States, quarterly data on intergovernmental lending (IGL) is also published. The share of IGL in GDP at the end of the third quarter of 2014 amounted to 2.4% in the euro area and to 1.8% in the EU28. These data are released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Government debt at the end of the third quarter 2014 by Member State The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of the third quarter of 2014 were recorded in Greece (176.0%), Italy (131.8%) and Portugal (131.4%), and the lowest in Estonia (10.5%), Luxembourg (22.9%) and Bulgaria (23.6%). Compared with the second quarter of 2014, eighteen Member States registered a decrease in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the third quarter of 2014, nine an increase and Estonia no change. The highest decreases in the ratio were recorded in Cyprus (-5.1 percentage points - pp), Malta (-2.7 pp) and Hungary (-2.6 pp), and the highest increases in Bulgaria (+3.1 pp), Portugal (+1.9 pp) and Denmark (+1.6 pp). Compared with the third quarter of 2013, eighteen Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the third quarter of 2014, and ten a decrease. The highest increases in the ratio were recorded in Slovenia (+16.8 pp), Croatia (+7.3 pp) and Bulgaria (+6.6 pp), and the largest decreases in Ireland (-9.4 pp), Poland (-8.0 pp) and Luxembourg (-5.0 pp).
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