Greece's debt climbed to 171.8% of GDP in the third quarter

One might have expected that due to the reduction of the Gross Domestic Product of Greece, the total debt of the country as a percentage of GDP would increase, however, the news that it rose to 171.8% in the third quarter came as a shock.

According to the latest figures from Eurostat, Greece recorded the third largest increase in public debt in the third quarter of 2013 behind Cyprus and Luxembourg, while most EU countries recorded a debt reduction, even some under a memorandum such as Portugal.

According to the report, the highest debt in the eurozone was recorded by Greece with a percentage of 171.8% of GDP.

The largest debt increases were recorded in Cyprus (+11%) and Luxembourg (+4.6%), while the largest decreases were observed in Portugal (-26%), Finland (-2.5%), Belgium (-1.5%), Germany (-1.4%) and Hungary (-1.3%).

Greece remains the country with the largest debt in the eurozone, followed by Italy (132.9%), Portugal (128.7%) and Ireland (124, 8%). The lower debts in the third quarter were recorded in Estonia (10.0%), Bulgaria (17.3%) and Luxembourg (27.7%).