Deficit at €926 million in 2018

In 2018, the government deficit and debt of both the euro area (EA19) and the EU28 decreased in relative terms compared with 2017, according to data released today by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union following the so called second 2019 notification of data, based on the ESA2010 system of accounts.

According to Eurostat, in the euro area the government deficit to GDP ratio fell from 0.9% in 2017 to 0.5% in 2018, and in the EU28 from 1.0% to 0.7%. In the euro area the government debt to GDP ratio declined from 87.8% at the end of 2017 to 85.9% at the end of 2018, and in the EU28 from 82.1% to 80.4%.

In Cyprus GDP increased form 17.827 billion in 2015 to 18.873 billion in 2016, 20.040 billion in  2017 and 21.138 billion in 2018, while deficits evolved form -173 million in 2015, to 17 million surplus in 2016, to 333 million surplus in 2017 and -926 million deficit in 2018, or -1.0%, 0.1%, 1.7% and -4.4% of GDP respectively. Public debt also increased from 19.164 billion in 2015 to 19.509billion in 2016, decreased to 18.814billion in 2017 and increased again to 21.256 billion in 2018, or 107.5%, 103.4%, 93.9% and 100.6% of GDP respectively.

Furthermore, in 2018, Luxembourg (+2.7%), Germany and Malta (both +1.9%), Bulgaria (+1.8%), the Netherlands (+1.5%), Czechia (+1.1%), Greece (+1.0%), Denmark, Slovenia and Sweden (all +0.8%), Lithuania (+0.6%), Croatia (+0.3%), Austria (+0.2%) and Ireland (+0.1%) registered a government surplus.

Two Member States had deficits equal to or higher than 3% of GDP: Romania (-3.0%) and Cyprus (-4.4%).

At the end of 2018, the lowest ratios of government debt to GDP were recorded in Estonia (8.4%), Luxembourg (21.0%), Bulgaria (22.3%), Czechia (32.6%), Lithuania (34.1%) and Denmark (34.2%).

Fourteen Member States had government debt ratios higher than 60% of GDP, with the highest registered in Greece (181.2%), Italy (134.8%), Portugal (122.2%), Cyprus (100.6%), Belgium (100.0%), France (98.4%) and Spain (97.6%). In 2018, government expenditure in the euro area was equivalent to 47.0% of GDP and government revenue to 46.5%.

The figures for the EU28 were 45.8% and 45.1% respectively. In both zones the government expenditure ratio decreased between 2017 and 2018, while the government revenue ratio increased.

Finally in Greece, the country recorded a GDP of 177.258 billion in 2015, 176.488 billion in 2016, 180.218 billion in 2017 and 184.714 billion in 2018. The annual deficit was -9.953 billion in 2015, 858 million surplus in 2016, 1.299 billion surplus in 2017 and 1.826 billion surplus i 2018 or -5.6 deficit and 0.5 , 0.7 , 1.0 surpluses for the following years. Debt levels kept rising from 311.729 billion in 2015 to 315.009 billion in 2016, 317.484 billion in 2017 and 334.721billion in 2018, or 175.9%, 178.5%, 176.2% and 181.2% of GDP.