At 1.995 billion euros, Italy's public debt reached 127,3% of GDP in the third quarter, 1,3% more than the previous quarter and 7,4% more than the same period in 2011. Eurostat communicates this in its quarterly report on levels of public debt among EU countries.
For the 17 euro area countries as a whole, the debt-to-GDP ratio reached 90% in the third quarter, 0,1 points more than in the previous three months and 3,2 points more on an annual basis.
The Italian public debt is the second in absolute terms after that of the Germany, equal to 2.150 billion euros, and also second in terms of incidence on GDP after that of the Greece, where the debt stands at 152,6 per cent in relation to the gross domestic product.
On an annual basis, the Greek debt-to-GDP decreased by about 11 percentage points, due to the restructuring of the share of debt held by private investors. The third highest debt-to-GDP ratio in Europe is that of Portugal, at 120%, followed by Ireland at 117%.
