Romania's general government debt (the public debt) went up by 24% - or RON 90 billion (EUR 18.4 bln) - in the first eleven months of 2020 to RON 464.0 billion (EUR 95.2 bln) at the end of November.

The public debt to GDP ratio rose by 9.1pp to 44.4% of GDP at the end of November, from 35.3% at the end of 2019.

According to data published by the Finance Ministry, the debt to GDP ratio rose by only 0.4pp in November, as the public debt in absolute terms increased by only RON 7 bln (EUR 0.88 bln) in the month.

The EUR 2.5 bln Eurobonds issued in late November were cashed in December, and the full-year rise in the public debt to GDP ratio will predictably exceed 10pp. Thus, the debt to GDP ratio probably exceeded the 45% threshold at the end of 2020.

Public indebtedness increased amid the governments' efforts to support the private sector and address the health crisis across whole Europe. Thus, the average public debt to GDP in the European Union rose to 89.8% at the end of September, 2.1pp more compared to the end of June.

Among the EU member states, Greece recorded the highest level of government debt at the end of the third quarter of 2020 (199.9% of GDP), followed by Italy (154.2% of GDP), Portugal (130.8% of GDP), Cyprus (119.5% of GDP), France (116.5% of GDP), Spain (114.1% of GDP), and Belgium (113.2% of GDP).

Estonia had the lowest relative public debt (18.5% of GDP), followed by Bulgaria (25.3% of GDP), Luxembourg (26.1% of GDP), the Czech Republic and Sweden (both with 38.4% of GDP), Denmark (42.4% of GDP) and Romania (43.1% of GDP).

iulian@romania-insider.com

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