Cyprus leads EU quarterly debt-ratio decline as figure falls to 48.5%

Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus registered the EU’s steepest quarterly fall in its government debt-to-GDP ratio during April–June 2026, reaching 48.5 per cent, Eurostat figures published on Wednesday showed.

Cyprus debt continues to fall

According to Eurostat, the ratio declined by 3 percentage points from its first-quarter level of 51.5 per cent. The annual reduction was reported as 9.5 percentage points, compared with a ratio of 58.1 per cent for April–June 2025.

The figures put Cyprus’ gross general government debt at €19.2 billion as June 2026 ended, compared with €20.03 billion at March’s close and €21.7 billion a year earlier. The data showed a continuing decline in the country’s debt burden measured against its economic output.

Quarterly and annual EU comparisons

Eurostat’s quarterly comparison placed Cyprus ahead of Greece, which recorded a reduction of 2.7 percentage points. The next decreases were Hungary’s 2 percentage points, Ireland’s 1.8 percentage points, Croatia’s 1.6 percentage points and Slovakia’s 1 percentage point.

On an annual basis, the figures ranked Cyprus second only to Greece, whose ratio dropped by 11.2 percentage points. Following Cyprus’ reported 9.5-percentage-point decline, Slovenia registered a fall of 4.5 percentage points and Portugal 3.4 percentage points.

EU and euro area ratios rise

Despite the decrease in Cyprus, Eurostat reported that government debt across the EU continued to increase, reaching 82.9 per cent of GDP in April–June, against 82.5 per cent in January–March.

For the euro area, the figures showed an increase to 88.8 per cent from 88.4 per cent over those quarters.