Romania has the fifth lowest public debt in the EU

Romania’s public debt amounted to 38.4% of the GDP at the end of 2015, the fifth lowest public debt among the European Union countries, according to EU’s statistical office Eurostat. Almost half of Romania’s total public debt, namely 49.2%, represents foreign debt, 47.6% is owned by resident banks in Romania, and 3.2% by companies. The short-term debt, which is below one year, reached 6.5% of the GDP. This means that Romania needs to pay back about EUR 10 billion this year. However, the situation is under control, as the current public debt is one of the lowest in Europe and the cost of new loans is relatively low. The yield on ten-year bonds is around 3%. At EU level, the average public debt amounted to 85.2% of the GDP. In the Eurozone, public debt amounted to 90.7%. Five countries have a public debt exceeding 100% of the GDP, and only four countries have a public debt below 40% of the GDP. editor@romania-insider.com