Government debt to GDP ratio up in both euro area, EU

At the end of Q1, 2013, the government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area stood at 92.2 percent, compared with 90.6 percent at the end of Q4, 2012. In the EU, the ratio increased from 85.2 percent to 85.9 percent. Compared with Q1 of 2012, the government debt to GDP ratio rose in both the euro area and the EU, said the EU's statistical office (Eurostat) on Monday. The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of Q1 of 2013 were recorded in Greece (160.5 percent), Italy (130.3 percent), Portugal (127.2 percent), and Ireland (125.1 percent). The lowest were in Estonia (10.0 percent), Bulgaria (18.0 percent), and Luxembourg (22.4 percent). Compared with Q1 of 2012, 24 EU Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of Q1 of 2013, and three a decrease, Eurostat noted.