Eurostat: Greece leads EU in debt reduction

Official Eurostat data for the first quarter of 2026 indicate a significant decline in Greece's public debt, both as a percentage of GDP and in nominal terms.

According to the European statistical office, Greece's debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 143.5%, representing a year-on-year decrease of 9.4 percentage points compared with the first quarter of 2025, CE Report quotes ANA-MPA.

This was the largest reduction among the 27 member states of the European Union over the period. Compared with the peak of 212.9% recorded in the first quarter of 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the debt-to-GDP ratio has declined by a cumulative 69.4 percentage points, representing one of the fastest fiscal adjustments among OECD economies.

The improvement in the ratio was accompanied by a decline in the nominal stock of public debt. At the end of the first quarter of 2026, public debt amounted to 360 billion euros, a reduction of more than 6 billion euros compared with the 366 billion euros recorded in March 2025.

Despite this substantial improvement, Greece continues to record the highest public debt-to-GDP ratio in the European Union. However, the gap with the second most indebted member state, Italy (138.9% of GDP), has narrowed to 4.6 percentage points. France (117.6% of GDP), Belgium (109.1%) and Spain (101.6%) follow among the member states with the highest debt ratios.

The reduction in Greece's debt took place against a broader European backdrop in which most member states experienced increasing fiscal pressures. Eurostat data show that the debt-to-GDP ratio increased in 19 member states, resulting in a 1.5 percentage-point increase in the EU-27 average, while Greece was among only eight member states that recorded a decline.

According to analysts and government economic officials, the sustained reduction in public debt is helping to contain public debt servicing costs and strengthen the country's investment profile in international financial markets. This development is attributed to both fiscal discipline and continued growth in nominal GDP, a combination that is accelerating the decline in the debt ratio and other key fiscal indicators.

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