Lithuania recorded the European Union’s smallest budget deficit in the first quarter of 2025, at 0.9% of gross domestic product, while five EU members posted budget surpluses, the bloc’s statistics agency Eurostat said Tuesday.
Estonia’s budget deficit stood at 1.2% of GDP, while Latvia’s was 1.9%, according to Eurostat. The average budget deficit across EU countries was 3.1% of GDP.
The EU countries that recorded budget surpluses were Cyprus, with a surplus of 4.4% of GDP; Ireland, 2.4%; Denmark, 2%; Greece, 1.2%; and Portugal, 0.3%.
Lithuania’s government debt totalled 36.3 billion euros in the first quarter, equivalent to 42.3% of GDP, placing it among the countries with the lower debt ratios in the EU.
Latvia’s government debt stood at 20.4 billion euros, or 46.9% of GDP, while Estonia’s was 10.6 billion euros, or 25.2% of GDP. Estonia continued to have the lowest government debt ratio in the EU.
