Croatian Public Debt Below 60 Percent of GDP in the Fourth Quarter

Croatian public debt as a share of GDP fell even further below the prescribed ceiling of 60 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, distancing itself even more from the eurozone average, data from the European statistical office showed on Tuesday.

At the eurozone level, the share of public debt in GDP was 87.4 percent at the end of the fourth quarter, down by 0.7 percentage points from the end of September, statisticians calculated, slightly lowering the estimate for the end of the third quarter.

At the EU level, it decreased by 0.6 percentage points to 81 percent.

Compared to the fourth quarter of 2023, the share of debt in eurozone GDP is up by 0.1 percentage points and by 0.2 percentage points in the EU.

At the end of last year, the gross general government debt at the eurozone level amounted to 13.26 trillion euros, and at the EU level to 14.54 trillion euros. This means that in the eurozone it was higher by about 30 billion euros than at the end of September, and by about 60 billion euros at the Union level.

Croatia Alongside Slovakia

In 12 EU countries, public debt as a share of GDP was above the prescribed ceiling of 60 percent at the end of the fourth quarter of last year, the data shows.

The highest was again in Greece, where it exceeded GDP by just over 50 percent. Italy follows with debt exceeding GDP by 35 percent.

In France, it again exceeded GDP by just over 10 percent, and it was slightly higher than the value of economic activity in Belgium and Spain.

In Croatia, the consolidated general government debt at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024 amounted to 49.28 billion euros and was lower by 690 million euros than at the end of the third quarter. Expressed as a share of GDP, it fell to 57.6 percent at the end of December, down from 59.6 percent according to revised data from the end of September.

This means that at the end of last year, it fell even further below the prescribed ceiling in the EU.

At the end of 2023, it amounted to 48.26 billion euros, which then corresponded to 61.8 percent of GDP.

The closest to Croatia in terms of public debt as a share of GDP at the end of last year was Slovakia, where it amounted to 59.3 percent. Poland is also close with a debt share of 55.3 percent.

The lowest was again in Estonia, where it amounted to 23.6 percent. Bulgaria follows with 24.1 percent.

Sharp Decline in Greece

At the end of last year, the share of debt in GDP was lower in 18 countries than at the end of September, with the largest decrease in Greece, by 4.7 percentage points.

Cyprus follows with a debt share in GDP lower by 4.1 percentage points.

The largest increase was in Poland, by two percentage points, with Romania, Sweden, and Malta close behind, where it increased by approximately 1.5 percentage points.

A comparison with the end of the fourth quarter of 2023 shows an increase in the share of public debt in GDP in 16 countries. The largest increase was in Romania and Poland, by 5.9 and 5.7 percentage points, respectively.

Conversely, the largest decrease was in Greece, by 10.3 percentage points. Cyprus is also close, where it decreased by 8.6 percentage points.

Croatia is included in the group with a public debt share in GDP at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024 lower by 4.3 percentage points than at the end of the same period in 2023, as determined by Eurostat.