Eurozone public debt rose to 93.9 per cent of economic output in the first quarter of this year, approaching the peak it is expected to reach later in 2014, official data showed.
Government debt of the 18 countries sharing the euro stood at 9.055 trillion euros ($12.21 trillion) in the first three months of this year, compared to 8.905 trillion euros in the last quarter of 2013, the EU’s statistics office Eurostat said.
The EU’s executive arm – the European Commission – expects the debt to peak at 96.0 per cent of gross domestic product this year and then ease to 95.4 per cent of GDP in 2015.
Nearly 80 per cent of the eurozone’s debt is in bonds and treasury bills, whilst loans account for 17.9 per cent of the debt.
Greece is the eurozone’s most indebted country with sovereign debt of 174.1 per cent of GDP, followed by the bloc’s third-biggest economy Italy, with debt equivalent to 135.6 per cent of GDP in the first quarter.
Only two countries – Germany and Luxembourg – saw their debt fall compared with the last quarter of 2014 and the first quarter of 2013.
Source: Reuters