The full overview of the government debt of all European countries for which figures are available. The higher the debt, the less room a country has when a crisis or war costs extra money, and the greater the risk of higher interest rates, tax rises or inflation.
Money is often the first sign that something is starting to shift. Long before the shelves are empty, you can see strain in debt, interest rates and exchange rates. If you follow those signals, you have time to prepare calmly.
A country with high debt and high interest rates has less money left over when a crisis hits. Then come spending cuts, higher taxes or newly printed money, and you feel it in your wallet.
In wars and major crises, governments have often created extra money to pay for their spending. The result was usually inflation: savings lost value.
When a currency falls fast, like the hryvnia in 2014–2015 or the rouble in 2022, it points to panic, capital flight or sanctions. Anything that comes from abroad, such as fuel and medicines, immediately becomes more expensive.
If investors suddenly demand much higher interest from a country, they doubt whether it can pay back. That is how the euro crisis began in Greece in 2010.
In a financial crisis, banks can close temporarily or limit withdrawals, as in Cyprus in 2013 and in Greece in 2015. That is why we recommend keeping cash at home.
On this site we track government debt in Europe, the EU's own debt, the dollar and US debt, the rouble and the hryvnia, and bitcoin and silver. No predictions, just signals.
Signals are not certainties. Use them to get your basics in order in time: water, food, cash and a plan. Not financial advice. Also read: what war does to money
Besides the debts of its member states, the European Union also borrows money itself. The European Commission does this by selling bonds to investors, such as banks, pension funds and central banks around the world. Money the EU lends on to countries is repaid by those countries; the grant part, mainly the COVID recovery fund, is repaid through the EU budget, so ultimately by the member states. It is not the debt of the European Central Bank.
In these countries, the government has more financial assets than debts, mainly thanks to funds built up in good years. So gross debt doesn't tell the whole story.
Source: Eurostat, government net financial worth, first quarter of 2026 (provisional). Liechtenstein: IMF. Monaco: own calculation based on government figures, not readily comparable. All other European countries have net debt.
GDP is everything a country earns in a year. EU countries have agreed that debt should not exceed 60% of GDP.
| Country | Debt | In euros | % GDP | Change | As of | Source |
|---|
EU countries and Norway: Eurostat, first quarter of 2026, provisional figures under the EU definition. The next quarter is expected to be published at the end of October.
Other countries: the most recent official figures from ministries, statistics offices or the IMF. Definitions and reference dates differ.
The change is in the country's own currency, compared with the earlier reference date shown.
General information, not financial advice.