According to the first notification from Eurostat with regard to figures to 2011, Euro area and EU government deficit at 4.1% and 4.5% of GDP respectively. In addition, in the euro area the government debt to GDP ratio increased from 85.3% at the end of 2010 to 87.2% at the end of 2011, and in the EU from 80.0% to 82.5%.

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, provided government deficit and debt data based on figures reported in the first 2012 notification by EU Member States for the years 2008-2011, for the application of the excessive deficit procedure (EDP). With regard to the data released by Eurostat, in 2011, the government deficit of both the euro area and the EU decreased in absolute terms compared with 2010, while the government debt rose in both zones. In 2010, provision of euro area and EU government deficit was 6.0% and 6.4% debt of GDP respectively.

In 2011, government expenditure in the euro area was equivalent to 49.3% of GDP and government revenue to 45.2%. The figures for the EU were 49.1% and 44.6% respectively. In both zones, the government expenditure ratio decreased between 2010 and 2011, while the government revenue ratio increased.

Regarding the data by countries, in 2011 the largest government deficits in percentage of GDP were recorded in Ireland (-13.1%), Greece (-9.1%), Spain (-8.5%), the United Kingdom (-8.3%), Slovenia (-6.4%), Cyprus (-6.3%), Lithuania (-5.5%), France and Romania (both -5.2%) and Poland (-5.1%). The lowest deficits were recorded in Finland (-0.5%), Luxembourg (-0.6%) and Germany (-1.0%). Hungary (+4.3%), Estonia (+1.0%) and Sweden (+0.3%) registered a government surplus in 2011.

On the other hand, fourteen Member States had government debt ratios higher than 60% of GDP in 2011: Greece (165.3%), Italy (120.1%), Ireland (108.2%), Portugal (107.8%), Belgium (98.0%), France (85.8%), the United Kingdom (85.7%), Germany (81.2%), Hungary (80.6%), Austria (72.2%), Malta (72.0%), Cyprus (71.6%), Spain (68.5%) and the Netherlands (65.2%), while the lowest ratios of government debt to GDP were recorded in Estonia (6.0%), Bulgaria (16.3%), Luxembourg (18.2%), Romania (33.3%), Sweden (38.4%), Lithuania (38.5%), the Czech Republic (41.2%), Latvia (42.6%), Slovakia (43.3%) and Denmark (46.5%) at the end of 2011.