Portugal maintained in 2020 the third largest division among Member States – Economy
The public debt-to-GDP ratio increased in 2020 to 97.3% in the Eurozone and 90.1% in the European Union, with Portugal (135.2%) maintaining the third highest among Member States, Eurostat disclosure .
According to data from the European statistical office, in the Eurozone, the ratio of public debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased from 83.6% at the end of 2019 to 97.3% at the end of 2020, and in European Union (EU) from 77.2% to 90.1%.
Public debt increased in 2020 compared to 2019 in both the Eurozone and the EU as part of the Obtain measures in response to the covid-19 pandemic, justified by Eurostat. At the end of 2020, the lowest public debt-to-GDP ratios were reported by Estonia (19.0%), Bulgaria (24.7%), Luxembourg (24.8%) and the Czech Republic (37.7%) and the largest in Greece (206.3%), Italy (155.6%), Portugal (135.2%) and Spain (120%).
EU fiscal rules – which were suspended until 2022 (inclusive) due to the pandemic – stipulate a limit of 60% of GDP relative to public debt.
EU and Eurozone close 2020 with deficits of 6.9% and 7.2% of GDP given the pandemic
The public deficit rose to 7.2% of GDP in the Eurozone and 6.9% in the European Union in 2020, compared to the previous year, with the 27 Member States showing negative balances in public accounts, according to Eurostat.
The European statistical office points out as suitable measures to combat the covid-19 pandemic as the cause of the rise in deficits in public administration accounts.
In the Eurozone, the public deficit increased from 0.6% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2019 to 7.2% in 2020 and in the EU the worsening to a deficit of 0.5% to 6.9% of GDP .
In 2020, all independent Member States have negative balances in their general government accounts, with the highest deficit figures being registered in Spain (11.0% of GDP), in Greece (10.1%), in Malta (9.7%) and Romania (9.4%).
Among the 27, only Denmark (0.2%) and Sweden (2.8%) dissipate a deficit value of less than 3% of GDP. The value of the deficit in Portugal was 5.8% of GDP, which compares with a surplus of 0.1% recorded in 2019.
EU fiscal rules – which were suspended until 2022 (inclusive) due to the pandemic – stipulate a limit of 3% of GDP relative to the deficit.