The public deficit of the Eurozone increased to 3.3% of GDP in the second quarter of 2026, one-tenth more than in the first three months of the year, while public debt rose to 88.8% of GDP, up from 88.4% recorded at the end of the first quarter, according to data published this Wednesday by Eurostat.
In the whole of the European Union (EU), the deficit also worsened to 3.5% of GDP, up from 3.1% in the previous quarter. Debt, for its part, rose by four-tenths, to 82.9% of GDP, from 82.5%.
The deficit data are adjusted for seasonal and calendar effects. In the Eurozone, public revenues represented 46.8% of GDP in the second quarter, down from 46.9% in the first, while expenditure increased to 50.1%, up from 50%.
Eurostat explains that, in absolute terms, public revenues increased by about 21 billion euros, although this increase was offset by the growth of nominal GDP. Expenditure, for its part, advanced by around 28 billion. In the EU, revenues stood at 46.3% of GDP and expenditure at 49.8%.
Regarding debt, the Eurozone ratio not only increased compared to the previous quarter but also compared to the same period in 2025, when it was at 87.3% of GDP. In the EU, it rose from 81.4% to 82.9% year-on-year.
In volume, the public debt of the euro area reached 14.44 trillion euros at the end of the second quarter, up from 14.25 trillion in the first three months of the year. In the whole of the EU it rose to 15.95 trillion, up from 15.71 trillion.
Spain maintains the deficit and debt
In Spain, the public deficit remained at 2.2% of GDP in the second quarter, unchanged from the first. It also remains at the same level as in the second quarter of 2025.
The Spanish debt stood at 101.4% of GDP, stable compared to the previous quarter, although below the 103.2% recorded a year earlier. In absolute terms, it reached 1.763 trillion euros.
Spain thus continues to be among the countries with the highest levels of indebtedness in the EU, behind Greece, at 140.8% of GDP; Italy, at 139.9%; France, at 119.1%; and Belgium, at 110.2%.
At the opposite end were Estonia (26.1%), Denmark (27.1%), Luxembourg (28.2%) and Bulgaria (28.7%).