Mapped: Europe’s Biggest Budget Deficits
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Key Takeaways
- Romania has Europe’s largest deficit at 7.3% of GDP, followed by Poland and Belgium.
- Several major economies, including France and the UK, have deficits exceeding 5% of GDP.
- Many EU countries remain above the bloc’s 3% deficit limit.
Europe’s fiscal rules are under pressure. The most recent data for late 2025 show that many countries are running deficits well above the European Union’s 3% limit, with some of the region’s largest economies among the worst offenders.
This map shows government budget balances as a share of GDP across Europe, based on the latest data from Eurostat and national statistical agencies.
While deficits surged during the pandemic, they remain elevated due to weak growth, energy shocks, and rising defense spending, particularly in countries closer to the war in Ukraine.
Who’s Running the Largest Deficits?
The EU sets a 3% of GDP limit on fiscal deficits, but many countries are now exceeding it by a wide margin.
From France (5.4%) to Poland (5.8%) and Romania (7.3%), several major economies are running deficits nearly double the threshold, raising questions about enforcement and fiscal discipline across the bloc.
The following data table lists European countries alongside their 2025 budget balances as a percentage of GDP.
| Country | Gov't Budget Deficit or Surplus (% of GDP) |
|---|---|
| 🇷🇴 Romania | -7.3% |
| 🇵🇱 Poland | -5.8% |
| 🇧🇪 Belgium | -5.7% |
| 🇫🇷 France | -5.4% |
| 🇬🇧 UK | -5.4% |
| 🇦🇹 Austria | -4.8% |
| 🇭🇺 Hungary | -4.4% |
| 🇸🇰 Slovakia | -3.8% |
| 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | -3.6% |
| 🇮🇹 Italy | -3.4% |
| 🇫🇮 Finland | -3.3% |
| 🇪🇺 EU | -3.2% |
| 🇱🇻 Latvia | -3.0% |
| 🇭🇷 Croatia | -2.9% |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | -2.8% |
| 🇪🇸 Spain | -2.2% |
| 🇨🇿 Czechia | -1.9% |
| 🇱🇹 Lithuania | -1.8% |
| 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | -1.6% |
| 🇳🇱 Netherlands | -1.6% |
| 🇸🇮 Slovenia | -1.4% |
| 🇪🇪 Estonia | -1.2% |
| 🇸🇪 Sweden | -1.1% |
| 🇮🇸 Iceland | -1.0% |
| 🇲🇹 Malta | -0.6% |
| 🇵🇹 Portugal | -0.5% |
| 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 0.5% |
| 🇮🇪 Ireland | 1.2% |
| 🇨🇾 Cyprus | 2.4% |
| 🇬🇷 Greece | 3.2% |
| 🇩🇰 Denmark | 3.3% |
| 🇳🇴 Norway | 12.5% |
All figures for Q3 2025 except for Norway and Switzerland, which are 2025 estimates. Norwegian figures include oil revenues. Latest data available as of March 2026.
Why does this matter? Higher deficits typically mean more borrowing, which can push up interest costs and limit governments’ ability to respond to future crises. For heavily indebted countries, this creates a growing fiscal squeeze as debt servicing takes up a larger share of budgets.
Different variables can shape a government’s budget and cause it to run either a surplus or a deficit. For many EU countries, the COVID-19 pandemic forced higher spending at a time of economic contraction, a trend that continued during the energy crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The latter has also forced higher government spending for more than just energy subsidies. European governments, especially in the east, have boosted defense spending to ward off Russian aggression.
Poland stands out with a budget deficit of 5.8%, driven largely by a surge in defense spending since 2022. As one of NATO’s frontline states, the country has rapidly expanded its military budget, illustrating how geopolitical tensions are directly reshaping fiscal balances across Europe.
Deficits in the EU’s Big Three
France, Germany, and Italy—the EU’s three largest economies—are all running deficits, but to very different degrees. France (5.4%) and Italy (3.4%) are above the EU’s limit, while Germany (2.8%) remains just below it.
Germany, which has long prided itself on fiscal prudence and low national debt, has had a rough few years, with the COVID-19 shock followed by an energy crisis and a multiyear recession.
The country recently bypassed its famous “debt brake,” which limits structural deficits, in order to boost investment in defense following the onset of the Russo-Ukrainian War. Meanwhile, the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz is under pressure to further increase investment in key strategic sectors despite limited growth.
France and Italy are also struggling to reduce their deficits, which are among the highest in Europe, although they are hamstrung by their own domestic concerns. France’s political instability and divided legislature have caused consistent setbacks to budget revisions, while Italy has attempted for years to bring down its high public debt, which at over 135% of GDP is the second-highest in the eurozone after Greece.
Mixed Results Across Non-EU Economies
Among the major non-EU economies, the budgetary situation is slightly better, albeit with one major exception: the United Kingdom is projected to have run a 5.4% deficit, contributing to its high public debt of roughly 100% of GDP.
Switzerland, meanwhile, eked out a meager 0.5% surplus, aided by above-expected profit taxes in Geneva. Norway, for its part, secured a 12.5% budget surplus, facilitated by its generous oil reserves at a time of soaring energy prices.
Norway’s 12.5% surplus stands in stark contrast to the rest of Europe. Fueled by oil revenues, it highlights how access to natural resources can dramatically reshape a country’s fiscal position. Without this energy income, however, Norway would be running a sizable deficit, underscoring how unusual its position is.
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