Cyprus’ gross government debt fell to 54.6% of GDP at the end of the first quarter of 2026, according to figures published by Eurostat on Tuesday.
Gross public debt stood at €20.089 billion in the first quarter of 2026, compared with €20.078 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025 and €21.790 billion in the first quarter of 2025.
As a share of GDP, Cyprus debt declined by 0.5 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2025, when it stood at 55.0%.
On an annual basis, the debt-to-GDP ratio dropped by 7.4 percentage points, down from 61.9% in the first quarter of 2025.
Cyprus recorded the second-largest annual reduction in the debt-to-GDP ratio among EU member states, behind only Greece, which posted a decline of 9.4 percentage points.
Composition of Cyprus debt
According to Eurostat, debt securities accounted for 31.6% of GDP in Cyprus, while loans represented 22.5% and currency and deposits 0.5%.
Intergovernmental lending, recorded as a financial asset, stood at 0.8% of GDP.
Debt rises across the euro area and EU
Across the euro area, the gross government debt-to-GDP ratio increased to 88.9% at the end of the first quarter of 2026, up from 87.7% in the previous quarter. In the European Union, the ratio rose from 81.8% to 82.9%.
Compared with the first quarter of 2025, debt also increased across both regions, rising from 87.2% to 88.9% in the euro area and from 81.4% to 82.9% in the EU.
Eurostat said debt securities accounted for 84.3% of total public debt in the euro area and 83.6% in the EU. Loans represented 13.2% and 13.9% respectively, while currency and deposits accounted for 2.5% in both.
Mixed debt trends across member states
Compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, 17 member states recorded higher debt-to-GDP ratios, eight reported declines, while the ratio remained unchanged in Latvia and the Czech Republic.
The largest quarterly increases were recorded in Hungary (+3.1 percentage points), Lithuania (+2.9), Luxembourg (+2.8), Ireland (+2.2), Croatia (+2.1) and Austria (+2.0). France and Poland both recorded increases of 1.9 percentage points, while Italy’s ratio rose by 1.8 percentage points.
The largest quarterly declines were reported in Greece (-2.6 percentage points), Bulgaria (-1.3), the Netherlands (-1.0) and Slovenia (-0.9).
Compared with the first quarter of 2025, 19 member states recorded increases in their debt-to-GDP ratios, while eight registered declines.
The largest annual increases were recorded in Finland (+5.5 percentage points), Bulgaria (+4.8), Poland (+4.5), Romania (+4.3), France (+4.0), and Luxembourg and Belgium (both +3.1).
The biggest annual declines were recorded in Greece (-9.4 percentage points), Cyprus (-7.4), Slovenia (-4.8), Portugal (-3.9), Denmark (-2.4) and Spain (-1.7).
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