By IANS/EFE,
Brussels: Spain’s budget deficit hit 10.6 percent of the gross domestic product in 2012, with the 3.6 percentage point effect of the bank bailout included, up from 9.4 percent of GDP in the prior year, the European Union’s statistics agency, Eurostat, said Monday.
Spain had the EU’s highest budget deficit last year, if the effects of the bank bailout are factored in, coming in above Greece (10 percent of GDP), Ireland (7.6 percent of GDP) and Portugal (6.4 percent of GDP).
Spain’s budget deficit was equivalent to 111.64 billion euros ($145.5 billion) last year, with the financial industry rescue included, Eurostat said.
The country’s debt climbed to 84.2 percent of GDP in 2012, up from 69.3 percent of national output in the previous year, Eurostat said.
Spain’s national debt totals 883.87 billion euros ($1.15 trillion), Eurostat said.