Bulgaria among Top EU Achievers in Closing Budget Gap

Bulgaria with 2% budget deficit and a 16.3% ratio of government debt to GDP in 2011 is among the top EU achievers, according to Eurostat. Photo by EPA/BGNES

In 2011, seventeen Member States had deficits higher than 3% of the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, while Bulgaria with 2% and a 16.3% ratio of government debt to GDP is among the top achievers.

The data was released Monday by Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU.

The 17 are: Ireland (-13.4%), Greece and Spain (both -9.4%),the United Kingdom (-7.8%), Slovenia (-6.4%), Cyprus (-6.3%), Lithuania and Romania (both -5.5%), France (-5.2%), Poland (-5.0%), Slovakia (-4.9%), the Netherlands (-4.5%), Portugal (-4.4%), Italy (-3.9%), Belgium (-3.7%), Latvia (-3.4%) and the Czech Republic (-3.3%).

In 2011, the government deficit of both the Eurozone and the EU decreased in absolute terms compared with 2010, while the government debt rose in both zones.

In the Eurozone the government deficit to GDP ratio decreased from 6.2% in 2010 to 4.1% in 2011, and in the EU from 6.5% to 4.4%. In the Eurozone the government debt to GDP ratio increased from 85.4% at the end of 2010 to 87.3% at the end of 2011, and in the EU from 80.0% to 82.5%.

In 2011, the lowest government deficits relative to GDP were recorded in Luxembourg (-0.3%), Finland (-0.6%) and Germany (-0.8%), while Hungary (+4.3%), Estonia (+1.1%) and Sweden (+0.4%) registered surpluses.

In all, 25 Member States recorded an improvement in their government balance relative to GDP in 2011 compared with 2010 and two a worsening.

At the end of 2011, the lowest ratios of government debt to GDP were recorded in Estonia (6.1%), Bulgaria (16.3%), Luxembourg (18.3%), Romania (33.4%), Sweden (38.4%) and Lithuania (38.5%).

Fourteen Member States had government debt ratios higher than 60% of GDP: Greece (170.6%), Italy (120.7%), Portugal (108.1%), Ireland (106.4%), Belgium (97.8%), France (86.0%), the United Kingdom (85.0%), Hungary (81.4%), Germany (80.5%), Austria (72.4%), Cyprus (71.1%), Malta (70.9%), Spain (69.3%) and the Netherlands (65.5%).

In all, six Member States recorded an improvement in their government debt relative to GDP in 2011 compared with 2010 and 21 a worsening.

In 2011, government expenditure4 in the Eurozone was equivalent to 49.5% of GDP and government revenue4 to 45.4%.  The figures for the EU were 49.1% and 44.7% respectively. In both zones, the government expenditure ratio decreased between 2010 and 2011, while the government revenue ratio increased.

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