In 2010, the government deficit of the euro area (EA17) increased and that of the EU27 decreased in absolute terms compared with 2009, while the government debt and GDP rose in both zones. In the euro area the government deficit to GDP ratio decreased slightly from 6.4% in 2009 to 6.2% in 2010, and in the EU27 from 6.9% to 6.6%. In the euro area the government debt to GDP ratio increased from 79.8% at the end of 2009 to 85.4% at the end of 2010, and in the EU27 from 74.7% to 80.2%.

In 2010 the largest government deficits in percentage of GDP were recorded in Ireland (-31.3%), Greece (-10.6%), the United Kingdom (-10.3%), Portugal (-9.8%), Spain (-9.3%), Latvia (-8.3%), Poland (-7.8%), Slovakia (-7.7%), France (-7.1%), Lithuania (-7.0%) and Romania (-6.9%). The lowest deficits were recorded in Luxembourg (-1.1%), Finland (-2.5%) and Denmark (-2.6%). Estonia and Sweden (both 0.2%) registered a slight government surplus in 2010. In all, 21 Member States recorded an improvement in their government balance relative to GDP in 2010 compared with 2009, five a worsening and one remained unchanged.

At the end of 2010, the lowest ratios of government debt to GDP were recorded in Estonia (6.7%), Bulgaria (16.3%), Luxembourg (19.1%), Romania (31.0%), the Czech Republic (37.6%), Lithuania (38.0%), Slovenia (38.8%) and Sweden (39.7%). Fourteen Member States had government debt ratios higher than 60% of GDP in 2010: Greece (144.9%), Italy (118.4%), Belgium (96.2%), Ireland (94.9%), Portugal (93.3%), Germany (83.2%), France (82.3%), Hungary (81.3%), the United Kingdom (79.9%), Austria (71.8%), Malta (69.0%), the Netherlands (62.9%), Cyprus (61.5%) and Spain (61.0%).

In 2010, government expenditure in the euro area was equivalent to 50.9% of GDP and government revenue4 to 44.6%. The figures for the EU27 were 50.6% and 44.1% respectively. In both zones, the government expenditure ratio decreased slightly between 2009 and 2010, while the government revenue ratio remained almost unchanged.