Ireland's government debt to GDP ratio rises to 108.5pc in Q1 2012

Ireland's government debt to GDP ratio rises to 108.5pc in Q1 2012

Ireland?s government debt to GDP ratio stood at 108.5pc at the end of the first quarter of 2012, up from 106.5pc in the previous quarter and from 100.3pc in Q1 2011, according to Eurostat figures.

Meanwhile, at the end of Q1 2012, the government debt to GDP ratio in the eurozone stood at 88.2pc, up from 87.3pc at the end of the fourth quarter of 2011. In the European Union, meanwhile, the ratio increased from 82.5pc to 83.4pc.

Compared with the first quarter of 2011, the government debt to GDP ratio rose in both the euro area (from 86.2pc to 88.2pc) and the EU27 (from 80.4pc to 83.4pc).

At the end of the first quarter of 2012, securities other than shares accounted for 78.3pc of euro area and 79.3pc of EU27 general government debt. Loans made up 17.8pc of euro area and 15.6pc of EU27 government debt. Currency and deposits represented 2.8pc of euro area and 3.8pc of EU27 government debt.

The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of the first quarter of 2012 were recorded in Greece (132.4pc), Italy (123.3pc), Portugal (111.7pc) and Ireland (108.5pc), and the lowest in Estonia (6.6pc), Bulgaria (16.7pc) and Luxembourg (20.9pc).

Compared with the fourth quarter of 2011, 21 Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the first quarter of 2012, and six a decrease. The highest increases in the ratio were recorded in Lithuania ( up 4 percentage points), Portugal (3.8 pp), Spain (3.7 pp) and Belgium (3.6 pp). The largest decreases were in Greece (33 pp), Hungary (1.8 pp) and Denmark (1.5 pp).

Compared with the first quarter of 2011, 23 Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the first quarter of 2012, and four a decrease. The highest increases in the ratio were recorded in Portugal (17.2 pp), Cyprus (11 pp) and Ireland (8.2 pp), and the largest decreases in Greece (20 pp) and Hungary (4.1 pp). Eurostat said the decrease in the Greek government debt is mainly due to exchange of bonds in the context of the PSI (private sector involvement).

Source: http://www.businessandleadership.com/leadership/item/36249-irelands-government-debt-t

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