Portugal recorded, in the third quarter of 2021, a public debt ratio of 130.5 % of gross domestic product (GDP). This makes Portugal the third country with the highest debt in the European Union. 

Portugal has the 3rd highest public debt in Europe 

The information was published Friday by Eurostatwhich is the statistical office of the EU. It reported that at the end of the third quarter of 2021, the government debt-to-GDP ratio in the euro area was 97.7 %, compared with 98.3 % at the end of the second quarter of 2021. In the EU as a whole, the ratio also declined from 90.91 % to 90.11 % over this period.

In the third quarter of last year, Portugal maintained its third place in the world ranking. public debt the highest in the EU, at 130.5 % of GDP, just behind Greece (200.7 %) and Italy (155.3 %).

Spain (121.8 %), France (116.0 %), Belgium (111.4 %), and Cyprus (109.6 %) are also on the list of Member States with the highest government debt-to-GDP ratio at the end of the third quarter of 2021. Conversely, the lowest ratios were recorded in Estonia (19.6%), Bulgaria (24.2%) and Luxembourg (25.3%).

Eurostat contextualizes, indicating that while in the euro area, the decrease in the ratio of public debt to GDP at the end of the third quarter was due to an increase in GDP, while the debt continued to increase due to the financing needs of the policy measures adopted to mitigate the economic and social impact of the pandemic."

Compared to the third quarter of 2020, the government debt-to-GDP ratio increased in both the euro area (from 96.6% to 97.7%) and the EU (from 89.2% to 90.1%).

Also in a yearly comparison, 15 member states recorded an increase in their debt-to-GDP ratio at the end of the third quarter of 2021 and 12 member states a decrease.