Latvia's budget deficit in Q2 smaller than EU average, Eurostat data show

Latvia's general government budget deficit in April–June, the second quarter of this year, stood at 2.9% of gross domestic product (GDP). That is lower than the European Union average, according to data published on Wednesday by Eurostat, the EU's statistics office. The indicator shows how far government spending exceeds revenue relative to the size of the economy.

Situation across the EU

A deficit was recorded in 22 EU member states in the second quarter. It was highest in Romania (9.2% of GDP), Hungary (7.2%) and Poland (5.9%). Belgium and Bulgaria each posted 5.3%, while France recorded 5.1%. In Lithuania and Estonia, as well as Italy and Slovenia, the deficit was 3.2% of GDP.

A budget surplus was registered in five countries: Cyprus (3.3% of GDP), Denmark (2.7%), Greece (2.2%), Ireland (1.9%) and Portugal (0.8%).

Change from the first quarter

Compared with the first quarter of the year, the budget balance worsened most in Romania (by 3.7 percentage points), Lithuania (2.4), Estonia (1.6) and Latvia (1.4 percentage points). The biggest improvements were in Bulgaria (2.6 percentage points), Luxembourg (0.8) and Slovakia (0.5 percentage points).

EU and eurozone averages

The seasonally adjusted general government deficit in the second quarter was 3.5% of GDP in the EU and 3.3% in the eurozone. In the first quarter, the figures were 3.1% and 3.2% of GDP respectively.