Portugal's public debt ratio was 130.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the third quarter of last year, the third highest in the European Union (EU) and above that of the Euro Zone-ZE (97.7%) and the 27 as a whole (90.1%).

Eurostat, the EU's statistical office, published the data on Friday, noting that the public debt-to-GDP ratio in the euro zone stood at 97.7% in the period under review, compared to 98.3% at the end of the second quarter of 2021.

Portugal maintained the third highest public debt ratio in the EU in the third quarter of last year, at 130.5% of GDP, only behind Greece (200.7%) and Italy (155.3%). The lowest ratios were recorded in Estonia (19.6%), Bulgaria (24.2%) and Luxembourg (25.3%).

Overall, the decrease in the public debt ratio in the EA and EU at the end of the third quarter "was due to an increase in GDP, while debt continued to rise due to the financing needs of the policy measures adopted to mitigate the economic and social impact of the pandemic."

Compared to Q3 2020, the government debt-to-GDP ratio rose in both the eurozone (from 96.6% to 97.7%) and the EU (from 89.2% to 90.1%).