Greece in 2012 had the highest debt to GDP ratio in the whole of the 28-member euro zone. It also had the second highest deficit. Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency, released the figures today.
According to Eurostat, Greek debt reached 156.9 per cent of GDP in 2012. Italy follows with 127 per cent, Portugal with 127 per cent and Ireland with 117.4 per cent.
Greece’s deficit was 9 per cent. This includes financing for the recapitalization of Greek banks. Spain fared worse than Greece, with a 10.6 per cent deficit. Ireland had the third highest deficit at 8.2 per cent, while both Portugal and Cyprus had 6.4 per cent.