European government finances
Government interest costs in the EU
Debt has an annual cost. Explore how much governments devote to interest, how large that expense is relative to their economies and revenues, and how it has changed.
Official Eurostat annual data · calculations by EU Debt Map
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Interest expenditure · sum of EU27 countries
- €357.49Bp
- Countries
- 27 EU
The headline adds the 27 countries’ interest expenditure; it is not an unweighted country average or an EU institutions budget.
Interest costs relative to the economy
The map always shows interest expenditure as a share of GDP. Select a country for the amounts and history.
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- Below 1% of GDP
- 1% to below 2%
- 2% to below 3%
- 3% or more
- No data
These are descriptive colour bands, not EU legal limits or a sustainability assessment.
Netherlands · 2025
0.7%p
Interest / GDP
- Annual interest expenditure
- €8.50Bp
- Interest per resident
- €470p
- Interest / government revenue
- 1.7%p
- EU rank · Interest / GDP
- 23 / 27
- Government debt at year-end · 2025
- €523.54B
- Debt / GDP at year-end · 2025
- 44.4%
The year-end debt figures come from Eurostat, gov_10dd_edpt1, for the same calendar year as the interest figures. Methodology
Follow annual interest costs · Netherlands
2015–2025 · Reporting year: 2025
Netherlands: annual interest expenditure changed by +€614.00M between 2024 and 2025; interest/GDP changed by 0.0 pp.
Each chart has its own labelled vertical scale, which may start above zero. Gaps and marked breaks are not connected. Exact values and source flags are in the table.
View annual values
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| Reporting year | Annual interest expenditure | Interest / GDP | Interest per resident | Interest / government revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | €9,380,000,000 | 1.3% | €554 | 3.1% |
| 2016 | €8,566,000,000 | 1.2% | €503 | 2.7% |
| 2017 | €7,664,000,000 | 1.0% | €447 | 2.3% |
| 2018 | €7,140,000,000 | 0.9% | €414 | 2.1% |
| 2019 | €6,455,000,000 | 0.8% | €372 | 1.8% |
| 2020 | €5,649,000,000 | 0.7% | €324 | 1.6% |
| 2021 | €4,849,000,000 | 0.5% | €277 | 1.2% |
| 2022 | €5,653,000,000 | 0.6% | €319 | 1.3% |
| 2023 | €7,125,000,000 | 0.7% | €399 | 1.6% |
| 2024 | €7,882,000,000 | 0.7% | €438 | 1.6% |
| 2025 | €8,496,000,000p | 0.7%p | €470p | 1.7%p |
On a small screen, swipe the table sideways for all columns.
Compare annual interest costs
Highest values rank first. Ties in displayed values share ranks (1, 2, 2, 4); searching keeps the EU rank. Percentages use one decimal and euro amounts use whole euros. A rank is not a verdict on fiscal health.
Countries shown: 27 / 27
| EU rank | Country | Annual interest expenditure (€)2025 | Interest / GDP (%)2025 | Interest per resident (€)2025 | Interest / government revenue (%)2025 | Previous year · Annual interest expenditure (€)2024 | Annual change (€) | Annual change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ItalyIT | €87,146,000,000 | 3.9% | €1,478p | 8.0% | €85,483,000,000 | +€1,663,000,000 | +1.9% |
| 2 | HungaryHU | €8,324,100,000 | 3.8% | €875 | 8.9% | €10,044,400,000 | -€1,720,300,000 | -17.1% |
| 3 | GreeceGR | €7,841,000,000 | 3.2% | €756ep | 6.3% | €8,225,000,000 | -€384,000,000 | -4.7% |
| 4 | RomaniaRO | €10,810,600,000 | 2.8% | €568e | 8.0% | €8,598,600,000 | +€2,212,000,000 | +25.7% |
| 5 | PolandPL | €23,144,600,000 | 2.5% | €636 | 5.8% | €18,715,000,000 | +€4,429,600,000 | +23.7% |
| 6 | SpainES | €40,314,000,000 | 2.4% | €817p | 5.6% | €38,793,000,000 | +€1,521,000,000 | +3.9% |
| 7 | BelgiumBE | €14,281,700,000p | 2.2%p | €1,198p | 4.5%p | €13,524,400,000p | +€757,300,000p | +5.6%p |
| 7 | FranceFR | €66,635,900,000 | 2.2% | €966p | 4.3% | €60,130,900,000 | +€6,505,000,000 | +10.8% |
| 9 | PortugalPT | €5,964,500,000 | 1.9% | €523 | 4.5% | €5,934,800,000 | +€29,700,000 | +0.5% |
| 10 | AustriaAT | €8,265,800,000 | 1.6% | €898 | 3.2% | €7,340,700,000 | +€925,100,000 | +12.6% |
| 10 | FinlandFI | €4,559,000,000 | 1.6% | €808 | 3.0% | €4,340,000,000 | +€219,000,000 | +5.0% |
| 12 | SlovakiaSK | €2,118,600,000 | 1.5% | €391 | 3.6% | €1,850,000,000 | +€268,600,000 | +14.5% |
| 13 | CroatiaHR | €1,299,600,000 | 1.4% | €335 | 3.0% | €1,334,400,000 | -€34,800,000 | -2.6% |
| 14 | CzechiaCZ | €4,517,400,000 | 1.3% | €414 | 3.2% | €4,271,400,000 | +€246,000,000 | +5.8% |
| 14 | SloveniaSI | €899,700,000 | 1.3% | €422 | 2.7% | €872,200,000 | +€27,500,000 | +3.2% |
| 16 | MaltaMT | €299,400,000 | 1.2% | €515 | 3.5% | €266,500,000 | +€32,900,000 | +12.3% |
| 17 | CyprusCY | €416,800,000 | 1.1% | €421p | 2.6% | €423,100,000 | -€6,300,000 | -1.5% |
| 17 | GermanyDE | €49,544,000,000 | 1.1% | €593 | 2.3% | €45,828,000,000 | +€3,716,000,000 | +8.1% |
| 17 | LatviaLV | €475,800,000 | 1.1% | €257 | 2.5% | €443,300,000 | +€32,500,000 | +7.3% |
| 20 | LithuaniaLT | €752,200,000 | 0.9% | €260 | 2.3% | €629,900,000 | +€122,300,000 | +19.4% |
| 21 | BulgariaBG | €953,600,000 | 0.8% | €148 | 2.2% | €541,900,000 | +€411,700,000 | +76.0% |
| 21 | DenmarkDK | €3,321,700,000 | 0.8% | €553 | 1.6% | €3,024,600,000 | +€297,100,000 | +9.8% |
| 23 | NetherlandsNL | €8,496,000,000p | 0.7%p | €470p | 1.7%p | €7,882,000,000 | +€614,000,000p | +7.8%p |
| 24 | SwedenSE | €3,637,700,000 | 0.6% | €343 | 1.3% | €3,802,000,000 | -€164,300,000 | -4.3% |
| 25 | EstoniaEE | €202,000,000 | 0.5% | €148 | 1.1% | €233,700,000 | -€31,700,000 | -13.6% |
| 25 | IrelandIE | €2,969,700,000 | 0.5% | €542 | 2.0% | €3,279,100,000 | -€309,400,000 | -9.4% |
| 27 | LuxembourgLU | €300,200,000 | 0.3% | €437 | 0.7% | €263,300,000 | +€36,900,000 | +14.0% |
— means missing or not comparable. A missing year is never replaced by another year; percentages are not calculated from a zero base.
Source codes are retained: p = provisional, e = estimated, b = break in series, d = different definition. Calculations inherit source uncertainty. Changes crossing b/d flags are not shown; forecasts are excluded. Other supplied codes remain visible. Revisions are possible without a flag.
Read the expense alongside the debt
A flow over a year
Debt measures an outstanding stock at a date. Interest measures an expense over a year. Both matter, but dividing one headline number by the other would not produce an observed bond interest rate.
Explore the EU debt map →Part of the budget
Interest relative to government revenue shows the size of the expense compared with annual receipts. It does not mean that a specific share of each tax payment is earmarked for interest, nor does it measure the full repayment burden.
Compare budget balances →Interest is recorded on an accrual basis under ESA 2010: assigned to the year in which it accrues, whether or not cash is paid then. This is expenditure, not net interest after subtracting interest receipts. It excludes principal repayments and is not the complete cost of financing or a weighted average bond interest rate.
Eurostat calculates average population from 1 January of the reporting year and the following year. This annual denominator differs from the year-end stock-date pairing on the debt-per-capita page. Per-resident interest is a comparison, not an individual bill.
Official Eurostat annual data · calculations by EU Debt Map
Source and calculations
Source: Eurostat, gov_10a_main and demo_gind. Visualisation and calculations by EU Debt Map. Eurostat does not endorse this independent website.
- Eurostat
- gov_10a_main · demo_gind
- Historical coverage
- 2015–2025
- Updated by Eurostat · gov_10a_main
- Updated by Eurostat · demo_gind
- Accessed
Annual data (A), general government (S13), interest expenditure (D41PAY), in million euro (MIO_EUR) and the official percentage of GDP (PC_GDP). Government revenue is TR in the same annual accounts. S13 interest and revenue are consolidated within general government: do not add the subsectors together.
Interest is recorded on an accrual basis under ESA 2010: assigned to the year in which it accrues, whether or not cash is paid then. This is expenditure, not net interest after subtracting interest receipts. It excludes principal repayments and is not the complete cost of financing or a weighted average bond interest rate. ESA 2010 · 4.50
Euros = MIO_EUR × 1,000,000. Interest per resident = annual interest euros / Eurostat annual-average population (demo_gind, AVG) for the same year. Interest/revenue (%) = D41PAY / TR × 100 using the same unit, sector, year and accounts vintage. These two ratios are EU Debt Map calculations; interest/GDP is Eurostat’s published ratio.
Eurostat calculates average population from 1 January of the reporting year and the following year. This annual denominator differs from the year-end stock-date pairing on the debt-per-capita page. Per-resident interest is a comparison, not an individual bill.
Amounts are nominal, without inflation adjustment. Eurostat converts annual national-currency flows using annual-average exchange rates; euro-area historical figures may use fixed conversion rates. Exchange rates can affect comparisons in euros.
— means missing or not comparable. A missing year is never replaced by another year; percentages are not calculated from a zero base.
Source codes are retained: p = provisional, e = estimated, b = break in series, d = different definition. Calculations inherit source uncertainty. Changes crossing b/d flags are not shown; forecasts are excluded. Other supplied codes remain visible. Revisions are possible without a flag.
Methodology · Eurostat
Refreshes are explicit. Three accounts requests must share a reporting year and source vintage; population must cover the same year. Only a fully validated EU27 snapshot replaces the previous file. Builds use local data. Earlier historical gaps remain visible.
- Annual interest expenditure · gov_10a_main · freq=A · sector=S13 · na_item=D41PAY · unit=MIO_EUR
- Interest / GDP · gov_10a_main · freq=A · sector=S13 · na_item=D41PAY · unit=PC_GDP
- Government revenue · gov_10a_main · freq=A · sector=S13 · na_item=TR · unit=MIO_EUR
- Annual-average population · demo_gind · freq=A · indic_de=AVG