Brussels, 22 July 2024 (Lusa) - Portugal had the third-largest public sector budget surplus in the euro zone in the first quarter of this year as a percentage of gross domestic product, at 0.6%, while the combined deficit ratio for the zone fell to 3.2% and for the European Union as a whole to 3.0%, the EU's statistical office announced on Monday.
In the euro zone, the public sector budget deficit ratio was down compared to the final quarter of 2023, when it was 4.0%, and compared to the first quarter of last year, when it was 3.3%, Eurostat added.
For the 27 EU member states as a whole, the deficit ratio was 3.9% in the final quarter and 3.1% in the first quarter of 2023.
According to the Eurostat data, Portugal had the third-largest public sector budget surplus in the first quarter, as a proportion of its GDP, after Denmark (3.8%) and Ireland (1.6%).
The biggest budget deficit was recorded in Romania (7.0%), followed by Hungary (6.0%), Bulgaria and France (both 5.6%).
IG/ARO // ARO.
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