Data show Europe’s deteriorating public finances

In 2008, the government deficit and government debt of both the euro area (EA16) and the EU27 increased compared with 2007.

In the euro area the government deficit to GDP ratio increased from 0.6% in 2007 to 1.9% in 2008, and in the EU27 it increased from 0.8% to 2.3%.

In the euro area the government debt to GDP ratio increased from 66.0% at the end of 2007 to 69.3% at the end of 2008, and in the EU27 from 58.7% to 61.5%.

Eurostat: Press Release: STAT/09/50: Provision of deficit and debt data for 2008 - first notification http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=STAT/09/56&format=DOC&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

---