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Eurostat · Government gross debt, net lending or borrowing and 10-year bond yield · European Union

What are the government debt, deficit and bond yield of the European Union?

The 10-year government bond yield of the European Union was 4.20% in the month ended .

European Union, debt and deficit, each year

1997 to 2025Yearly figure, as published or worked out (see the numbers)Each row has a scale of its own, printed under its nameNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

European Union, debt and deficit, each year, one row for each measure
  • Government gross debt, % of GDP81.5%62.4% to 89.4%
  • Government deficit or surplus, % of GDP−3.1%−6.7% to −0.4%

European Union, bond yield, each month

Oct 2016 to Sep 2026Monthly figure, as published or averaged (see the numbers)No picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

European Union, bond yield, each month, one row for each measure
  • 10-year government bond yield4.20%0.06% to 4.20%

Each row is one measure of the European Union, a year or a month to a point, with its newest value and its range printed beside it and a dashed line at zero. A gap is a period with no value. Pointing at the chart shows the period and the value.

Observed .

Right now

The gross debt of the government of the European Union was 81.5% of GDP in the year 2025, up 1.2 percentage points over a year (ours).

The net lending or borrowing of the government of the European Union was −3.1% of GDP in the year 2025, unchanged over a year (ours).

The 10-year government bond yield of the European Union was 4.20% in September 2026, up 0.69 percentage points over a year (ours).

The figures for the European Union are Eurostat's aggregates of the member states, so they have no rank among them.

See every measure with its change and rank

Over five yearsOurs

Over five years the gross debt of the government is down 7.9 percentage points, the net lending or borrowing of the government is up 3.6 percentage points and the 10-year government bond yield is up 3.80 percentage points (ours).

See the change of every measure

Against its historyOurs

The gross debt of the government in the year 2025 was the highest since 2022.

The net lending or borrowing of the government in the year 2025 was the highest since 2019.

The 10-year government bond yield in September 2026 was the highest since June 2012.

See when each measure was last higher and lower

What the figures areIn the source's words

Government gross debt: The total debt of the government as a whole at the end of the year, with the debts its parts owe each other taken out. It is the debt the budget rules of the European Union count (Eurostat, gov_10dd_edpt1).

Government deficit or surplus: Net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) of the government as a whole in the year: what it takes in less what it spends (Eurostat, gov_10dd_edpt1).

10-year government bond yield: The yield on central government bonds with about ten years left to run, traded between investors, before tax. Eurostat calls it the convergence criterion bond yield, because the rules for joining the euro compare countries on it (Eurostat, irt_lt_mcby_m).

Understanding the government finances of the European Union

Where it stands today

The 10-year government bond yield of the European Union was 4.20% in September 2026.

What do the figures for the European Union measure?

For the European Union, this page shows the gross debt of the government, its deficit or surplus and the yield on its 10-year bonds, in the figures official statistics publish. Government gross debt is what the government owes, as a share of the output of the economy in a year (GDP). Net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) is the balance of what the government takes in and what it spends in a year, as a share of GDP: a negative figure is a deficit and a positive figure a surplus. The 10-year bond yield is the yield on the government's bonds with about ten years left to run, in percent a year.

Read more

The figures are Eurostat's. It collects them from the statistical authorities of the member states, which report them under the same rules, so that a figure for one member state is on the same definition as the figure for another.

What 500metrics adds: the change over a year and over five years of every figure, the highest and lowest value since our record begins, the last time a figure was higher and lower, the last ten years of the bond yield and the yearly history of the government gross debt and government deficit or surplus as small charts.

The numbers behind the chart

What are the latest figures for the European Union?3 measures, each in its own newest period
European Union: the newest period of each measure, its change over a year and over five years (ours) in percentage points, its rank among the member states of the European Union and the last periods it was higher and lower (ours)
MeasurePeriodValueChange over a yearChange over five yearsRankLast higherLast lower
Government gross debt81.5% of GDP+1.2 pts−7.9 ptsn/a
Government deficit or surplus−3.1% of GDP0.0 pts+3.6 ptsn/a
10-year government bond yield4.20%+0.69 pts+3.80 ptsn/a

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

What were the debt and the deficit of the European Union in each year?29 years, newest first
European Union, by year, newest first
YearGovernment gross debtGovernment deficit or surplus
81.5% of GDP−3.1% of GDP
80.3% of GDP−3.1% of GDP
80.3% of GDP−3.4% of GDP
82.3% of GDP−3.1% of GDP
86.6% of GDP−4.6% of GDP
89.4% of GDP−6.7% of GDP
77.4% of GDP−0.5% of GDP
79.4% of GDP−0.4% of GDP
81.5% of GDP−0.9% of GDP
84.0% of GDP−1.4% of GDP
Show 19 more rows
YearGovernment gross debtGovernment deficit or surplus
85.0% of GDP−1.9% of GDP
86.9% of GDP−2.4% of GDP
86.8% of GDP−3.1% of GDP
85.0% of GDP−3.7% of GDP
81.7% of GDP−4.1% of GDP
80.4% of GDP−6.0% of GDP
75.7% of GDP−6.1% of GDP
65.1% of GDP−2.1% of GDP
62.4% of GDP−0.6% of GDP
65.0% of GDP−1.4% of GDP
67.2% of GDP−2.4% of GDP
67.1% of GDP−2.7% of GDP
66.8% of GDP−3.1% of GDP
65.6% of GDP−2.8% of GDP
65.8% of GDP−2.0% of GDP
66.6% of GDP−1.2% of GDP
n/a−1.5% of GDP
n/a−2.4% of GDP
n/a−3.0% of GDP
What was the bond yield of the European Union in each month?The last 120 months, newest first; the chart has the same months
European Union, 10-year government bond yield, by month, newest first
Month10-year government bond yield
4.20%
3.88%
3.75%
3.63%
3.73%
3.71%
3.66%
3.40%
3.51%
3.54%
3.44%
3.42%
Show 108 more rows
Month10-year government bond yield
3.51%
3.47%
3.44%
3.39%
3.40%
3.39%
3.58%
3.32%
3.42%
3.14%
3.24%
3.17%
3.12%
3.17%
3.38%
3.43%
3.40%
3.37%
3.23%
3.26%
3.15%
3.11%
3.62%
3.91%
3.72%
3.56%
3.47%
3.42%
3.47%
3.50%
3.54%
3.51%
3.33%
3.34%
3.39%
3.66%
3.16%
2.46%
2.60%
2.92%
2.38%
2.01%
1.46%
1.24%
0.93%
0.63%
0.64%
0.63%
0.40%
0.24%
0.31%
0.44%
0.50%
0.36%
0.31%
0.20%
0.08%
0.06%
0.08%
0.12%
0.22%
0.25%
0.29%
0.40%
0.49%
0.58%
0.46%
0.32%
0.50%
0.52%
0.46%
0.31%
0.24%
0.26%
0.52%
0.72%
0.99%
1.06%
1.12%
1.19%
1.26%
1.32%
1.48%
1.55%
1.43%
1.40%
1.32%
1.39%
1.35%
1.25%
1.33%
1.45%
1.30%
1.17%
1.22%
1.33%
1.28%
1.29%
1.39%
1.23%
1.34%
1.37%
1.49%
1.47%
1.33%
1.28%
1.23%
0.95%
What do these figures leave out, and how are they cited?Limits, dates and how to cite

What this number cannot tell you

  • Each yearly figure is a ratio to the output of the economy (GDP) of the same year, so it moves when the debt or the deficit moves and when GDP does.
  • The bond yield is in percent a year and is a figure for a month.
  • A change is the difference between two values, in percentage points, and is ours; it is shown for a year and for five years back, and is blank where the series does not reach that far.
  • Eurostat takes the debt and the net lending or borrowing from the national statistical authorities and revises them when they notify them again, in April and October. The newest year is often provisional, and Eurostat revises it. It marks a break in a series, and a change across a break is not like for like.
  • The debt is the total the government as a whole owes, with the debts between its own parts taken out. It is not reduced by what the government holds.
  • Net lending or borrowing is what the government as a whole takes in less what it spends in the year, so a deficit is a negative number.
  • The bond yield is the one Eurostat uses to compare countries for the euro's entry rules. Each member state's bond, or basket of bonds, is its own, and the yield of the euro area or the European Union is Eurostat's aggregate, not one government's.
  • The changes, the ranks and the highest and lowest values are ours, worked out from the values Eurostat publishes, and Eurostat is not responsible for them.
  • The figures of the European Union are Eurostat's series for the European Union with the member states it has had since 2020 (EU27_2020), for every year back to the first Eurostat holds.

Observed . Checked .

How to cite this

Eurostat, gov_10dd_edpt1 (government deficit/surplus, debt and associated data) and irt_lt_mcby_m (EMU convergence criterion bond yields), European Union, through 30 September 2026. Compiled by 500metrics, "What are the government debt, deficit and bond yield of the European Union?", https://500metrics.com/government-debt/european-union.

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