At the end of the third quarter of 2013, the government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area (EA17) stood at 92.7%, compared with 93.4% at the end of the second quarter of 2013, the first fall in absolute terms since the fourth quarter of 2007. In the EU28 the ratio increased from 86.7% to 86.8%, mainly due to exchange rate effects. Compared with the third quarter of 2012, the government debt to GDP ratio rose in both the euro area (from 90.0% to 92.7%) and the EU28 (from 84.9% to 86.8%).