asked the Minister for Finance the level of Government debt as a percentage of GNP; and if he will provide comparable figures for other EC countries.
Written Answers. - National Debt.
61.
Ireland's national debt (i.e. Exchequer debt) at end-1985 was 131.1 percent of GNP. Comparable figures for other EC countries are not available. However, the Commission of the European Communities has provided figures for public debt as a proportion of GDP for EC countries; these are given in the following tabular statement. As is clear from footnote 1 to the statement, the figures are not strictly comparable in all cases.
Public Debt¹ as a percentage of GDP for EC countries, 1985
|
Country |
Public Debt as % of GDP² |
|
Belgium |
118.2 |
|
Denmark |
67.5 |
|
Federal Republic of Germany |
42.0 |
|
France |
34.6 |
|
Greece |
56.7 |
|
Ireland |
116.0 |
|
Italy |
103.5 |
|
Luxembourg |
12.4 |
|
Netherlands |
70.7 |
|
Portugal |
74.7 |
|
Spain |
38.5 |
|
United Kingdom |
59.9 |
¹ Gross public debt; Belgium: general government excluding social security funds: Denmark: general government: Germany: general government: France: general government: Greece: central government: Ireland: exchequer: Italy: general government: Luxembourg: general government: Netherlands: general government excluding social security funds: Portugal: general government: Spain: general government, 1984: United Kingdom: general government:
² Provisional figures.
Source: Commission of the European Communities.