Cyprus has one of the highest rates of government debt in the EU while registering the biggest annual and quarter-on-quarter increases in the bloc, according to Eurostat.
Government debt in the euro area was down to 86.1% of GDP and 80.8% of GDP in the EU28 but Cyprus had fourth highest ratio of 110.9% (€22.643 bn).
In Q2 dept levels in Cyprus stood at 104% (€20.932 bn) and in Q3 2017 it was 101.3% (€19.536 bn).
The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of the third quarter of 2018 were recorded in Greece (182.2 %), Italy (133%), Portugal (125%), Cyprus (110.9%) and Belgium (105.4%).
The lowest were in Estonia (8.0%), Luxembourg (21.7%) and Bulgaria (23.1%).
Compared with the second quarter of 2018, six Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio in Q3 2018, 19 a decrease and the ratio remained stable in three Member States.
The highest increases in the ratio were recorded in Cyprus (+6.9 percentage points) and Greece (+4.8 pp).
The largest decreases were recorded in Malta (-3.1 pp), Slovenia and Croatia (both -1.6 pp), Hungary and Czechia (both -1.4 pp), the Netherlands (-1.1 pp) and Poland (-1.0 pp).
Compared with Q3 2017, four Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio in Q3 2018, and 24 a decrease.
An increase in the ratio was recorded in Cyprus (+9.7 pp), Greece (+7.4 pp), the United Kingdom (+0.4 pp) and Slovakia (+0.1 pp), while the largest decreases were recorded in Slovenia (-8.0 pp), Malta (-6.8 pp), Portugal (-4.6 pp), Austria (-4.3 pp), Lithuania (-4.2 pp), the Netherlands (-4.1 pp), Ireland and Croatia (both -4.0 pp).
At the end Q3 2018, the government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area (EA19) stood at 86.1%, compared with 86.3% in Q2.
In the EU28, the ratio decreased from 81% to 80.8%. Compared with Q3 2017, the government debt to GDP ratio fell in both the euro area (from 88.2% to 86.1%) and the EU28 (from 82.5% to 80.8%).
Meanwhile, the Seasonally adjusted government deficit increased to 0.5% of GDP in the euro area and is Up to 0.6% of GDP in the EU28.
In Q3 2018, seasonally adjusted general government deficit to GDP ratio stood at 0.5% in the euro area, an increase compared with 0.3% in Q2 2018. In the EU28, the deficit to GDP ratio stood at 0.6%, an increase compared with 0.4% in the previous quarter.
Total government revenue in the euro area amounted to 46.1% of GDP, a decrease compared with 46.2% in Q2 2018.
Total government expenditure in the euro area stood at 46.7% of GDP up from 46.5% in the previous quarter.
In the EU28, total government revenue was 44.9% of GDP in Q3 2018, unchanged compared to Q2. Total government expenditure in the EU28 was 45.5% of GDP, compared with 45.3% in the previous quarter.
