Belgium has been ranked the fourth most indebted country in the European Union, according to the latest figures released on Tuesday by Eurostat.
At the end of the second quarter of 2025, Belgium's public debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 106.2%, behind only Greece (151.2%), Italy (138.3%) and France (115.8%). At the other end of the scale, the lowest debt ratios were recorded in Estonia (23.2%), Luxembourg (25.1%), and Bulgaria (26.3%).
The EU's overall debt-to-GDP ratio reached 81.9% at the end of the second quarter, up from 81.5% in the previous quarter. Belgium's debt increased by 0.2 percentage points over the quarter, while that of Spain (103.4%), its closest follower, remained unchanged. Until the first quarter of last year, Spain's debt ratio was still higher than Belgium's. A year earlier, Portugal had also recorded a higher debt level.
Belgium is also performing poorly when it comes to budget deficits compared with other EU countries. In 2021, Belgium ranked tenth among member states with the largest deficits; in 2022 and 2023, it rose to eighth, and last year it climbed further to seventh place.
In 2024, Belgium’s budget deficit stood at 4.4%, compared with an EU average of 3.1%. The highest deficits were recorded in Romania (9.3%), Poland (6.5%), and France.
