The biggest reduction in public debt among the “27” European Union countries since the pandemic crisis has been recorded by Greece, according to aggregate Eurostat data released yesterday, confirming the steady downward trend of recent years.
Due to extraordinary fiscal spending and the recession caused by Covid-19, Greek debt had risen to 212.9% of GDP in the first quarter of 2021, more than double the European average, which was then 91.5%.
However, at the end of 2025, the debt-to-GDP ratio was reduced to 146.1%. This decline of almost 67 percentage points within four years was achieved despite the pressures on the economy from the dual energy and supply crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In practice, Greece’s debt-to-GDP ratio has returned to more favourable levels since the summer of 2010, i.e. since the start of the first adjustment programme. This result is attributed to prudent fiscal policy with the creation of primary surpluses, early repayment of the first memorandum loans and expensive IMF loans, and high growth rates that are boosting GDP.
In the same period, the European average improved by just 9.8 points. Thus, the divergence between Greece and the EU was reduced to 64.4 points, compared to 121.4 points recorded at the beginning of 2021.
The only country with a similar performance is Cyprus, which improved its debt-to-GDP ratio by 62.5 points between 2021 and 2025.
In contrast, eight member states saw their debt increase, while strong economies such as Germany and France reduced their GDP-debt ratios by just 5.3 and 1.5 points respectively, despite their traditionally lower borrowing rates.
The government’s economic staff remains aiming to further decelerate debt to 140% of GDP in 2027 and 120% in 2030.
