Practical analysis for investment professionals
14 November 2011

European Sovereign Debt Crisis: Pertinent Statistics

Posted In: Economics
European Union Flags in Brussels

It is one thing to talk about the European sovereign debt crisis and its many details and another to look at the statistics that are germane to understanding the crisis. Here then are some select data to help shape the story, and provide context for understanding some of the issues.

In the table below, the compound annual growth for debt in 2006 and projected through the end of 2012 is shown in the second column. Next is the compound annual growth of gross domestic product from 2006 through the projected result for 2012. These two are then compared to one another to derive a ratio of compound annual growth in debt to the compound annual growth in gross domestic product.


Projected Debt to GDP Growth Rates 2006 – 2012

 

Debt CAGR 2006 – 2012 GDP CAGR 2006 – 2012 Debt/GDP CAGR 2006 – 2012 Rank
Austria 5.2% 2.8% 1.85 14
Belgium 3.9% 2.9% 1.35 15
Cyprus 4.2% 3.8% 1.11 16
Estonia 7.0% 3.4% 2.06 13
Finland 6.4% 2.9% 2.24 12
France 6.9% 1.9% 3.71 7
Germany 4.6% 1.8% 2.51 10
Greece 9.0% 0.4% 23.36 2
Ireland 22.8% –1.4% (15.86) 1
Italy 3.1% 1.3% 2.51 11
Luxembourg 23.7% 4.7% 5.04 5
Malta 5.0% 4.6% 1.10 17
Netherlands 7.2% 2.1% 3.44 8
Portugal 9.3% 0.9% 10.48 3
Slovak Republic 10.4% 3.8% 2.72 9
Slovenia 11.9% 3.1% 3.78 6
Spain 10.5% 1.8% 5.80 4

Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF), CFA Institute.


As you can see, Ireland has the worst record given the negative growth expectation in their gross domestic product. Not surprisingly, among the other top nations are Greece, Portugal, and Spain, whose debts have grown more than five times faster than have their economies and have helped them to earn the unfortunate moniker of PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain).


Projected Total Debt to Projected GDP 2012

 

Greece 189.1%
Italy 121.4%
Ireland 115.4%
Portugal 111.8%
Belgium 94.3%
France 89.4%
Germany 81.9%
Austria 73.9%
Spain 70.2%
Netherlands 66.5%
Cyprus 66.4%
Malta 66.1%
Finland 50.3%
Slovenia 47.2%
Slovak Republic 46.9%
Luxembourg 21.5%
Estonia 5.6%
Total 90.0%

Source: International Monetary Fund (IMF), CFA Institute.


The table above shows the projected total debt to projected 2012 gross domestic product for each of the member states of the eurozone. Interestingly, all but five of the seventeen members have total debt-to-GDP ratios that are in excess of the “convergence criteria” of 60% maximum outlined by the Maastricht Treaty. Granted, the Maastricht Treaty allows for these amounts to vary under extraordinary circumstances, which many would argue describes the current period.

Total projected debt for 2012 is €8,713.81 billion, as compared to total projected GDP of €9,686.82. Comparing those two figures results in a total projected debt to total projected GDP figure for the eurozone member states of 90.0% for 2012, or a full 50% above [(90% ÷ 60%) – 1] the limits set forth in the “convergence criteria.”

Furthermore, the total projected debt to total projected GDP for the five largest eurozone economies is 89.0%. In other words, the weight of the problem does not just rest with Greece but is evenly distributed throughout the eurozone.


2012 Debt Maturity to Projected 2012 GDP

 

Austria 7.8%
Belgium 15.2%
Cyprus 21.7%
Estonia 0.0%
Finland 7.3%
France 12.1%
Germany 10.4%
Greece 20.6%
Ireland 3.6%
Italy 19.3%
Luxembourg 0.7%
Malta 11.0%
Netherlands 8.9%
Portugal 13.2%
Slovak Republic 6.6%
Slovenia 3.0%
Spain 12.4%
Total 12.5%

Source: Bloomberg, International Monetary Fund, CFA Institute.


Next is a comparison of the scheduled 2012 total debt maturing for each eurozone member state compared to their projected 2012 gross domestic product. As you can see, both Greece and Italy need to refinance debt totaling approximately one-fifth of their projected GDPs. For the entire eurozone this number is equal to one-eighth of total projected 2012 GDP in debt that needs to be rolled over.


Debt Maturities, Percent of Total

 

2011 2012 2013
Austria 0.1% 9.3% 9.0%
Belgium 4.5% 18.3% 9.4%
Cyprus 0.0% 36.5% 19.9%
Estonia 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Finland 0.0% 18.5% 7.9%
France 4.1% 18.8% 9.6%
Germany 3.7% 21.7% 14.8%
Greece 2.4% 12.9% 8.0%
Ireland 0.0% 5.3% 5.5%
Italy 2.3% 19.5% 9.7%
Luxembourg 0.4% 5.1% 49.5%
Malta 2.0% 18.6% 12.6%
Netherlands 5.6% 18.1% 10.1%
Portugal 3.5% 13.7% 6.6%
Slovak Republic 0.0% 16.4% 12.9%
Slovenia 0.0% 7.9% 0.8%
Spain 3.0% 21.0% 12.7%
Total 3.1% 18.6% 10.7%
Running total 3.1% 21.8% 32.5%

Source: Bloomberg, CFA Institute.


Here are each eurozone member state’s percentage of debt maturities as compared to their total outstanding debt for the remainder of 2011, continuing through 2013. The top five largest economies in the eurozone also happen to have some of the largest debt rollover needs: Germany 21.7%; France 18.8%; Italy 19.5%; Spain 21.0%; and the Netherlands 18.1%.

For the entire eurozone, there is a need to roll over 21.8% of the total outstanding debt from now until the end of 2012. By the end of 2013 they will need to roll over almost one-third (i.e., 32.5%) of outstanding debts.


Deficit to GDP

 

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Austria –1.6% –0.9% –0.9% –4.1% –4.4%
Belgium 0.1% –0.3% –1.3% –5.8% –4.1%
Cyprus –1.2% 3.5% 0.9% –6.1% –5.3%
Estonia 2.4% 2.4% –2.9% –2.0% 0.2%
Finland 4.0% 5.3% 4.3% –2.5% –2.5%
France –2.3% –2.7% –3.3% –7.5% –7.1%
Germany –1.6% 0.2% –0.1% –3.2% –4.3%
Greece –5.7% –6.5% –9.8% –15.8% –10.6%
Ireland 2.9% 0.1% –7.3% –14.2% –31.3%
Italy –3.4% –1.6% –2.7% –5.4% –4.6%
Luxembourg 1.4% 3.7% 3.0% –0.9% –1.1%
Malta –2.8% –2.4% –4.6% –3.7% –3.6%
Netherlands 0.5% 0.2% 0.5% –5.6% –5.1%
Portugal –4.1% –3.1% –3.6% –10.1% –9.8%
Slovak Republic –3.2% –1.8% –2.1% –8.0% –7.7%
Slovenia –1.4% 0.0% –1.9% –6.1% –5.8%
Spain 2.0% 1.9% –4.5% –11.2% –9.3%
Average –0.8% –0.1% –2.1% –6.6% –6.8%
Weighted Avgerage –1.4% –0.7% –2.1% –6.4% –6.3%

Source: Eurostat, CFA Institute.


Eurostat tracks the historical budget deficits of each eurozone member state relative to each member’s gross domestic product. In 2010, the most recent year for which data are available from Eurostat, only the eurozone’s newest member, Estonia, ran a budget surplus (0.2%). Another way to look at the data is on a weighted average basis (weighted by GDP), which shows that budget deficits in the eurozone on average were 6.3% larger than GDP in 2010. Clearly this is an unsustainable result.


Guarantees to the EFSF

 

Original (millions)
Enlargement (millions)
Austria €12,241.43 €21,639.19
Belgium €15,292.18 €27,031.99
Cyprus €863.09 €1,525.68
Estonia €1,994.86
Finland €7,905.20 €13,974.03
France €89,657.45 €158,487.53
Germany €119,390.07 €211,045.90
Greece €12,387.70 €21,897.74
Ireland €7,002.40 €12,378.15
Italy €78,784.72 €139,267.81
Luxembourg €1,101.39 €1,946.94
Malta €398.44 €704.33
Netherlands €25,143.58 €44,446.32
Portugal €11,035.38 €19,507.26
Slovak Republic €4,371.54 €7,727.57
Slovenia €2,072.92 €3,664.30
Spain €52,352.51 €92,543.56
€440,000.00 €779,783.16

Finally, each member of the eurozone has pledged contributions to the European Financial Stability Facility, initially on 9 May 2010 and in an agreement to enlarge the facility on 21 July 2011. The table above lists each member’s obligations to the EFSF. Interestingly, many of the troubled nations within the Eurozone are still pledged to provide bailout funding to the EFSF. If you remove the troubled nations (Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain) from the total amount pledged, then you are left with €494.19 billion of EFSF capacity.

 

About the Author(s)
Jason Voss, CFA

Jason Voss, CFA, tirelessly focuses on improving the ability of investors to better serve end clients. He is the author of the Foreword Reviews Business Book of the Year Finalist, The Intuitive Investor and the CEO of Active Investment Management (AIM) Consulting. Voss also sub-contracts for the well known firm, Focus Consulting Group. Previously, he was a portfolio manager at Davis Selected Advisers, L.P., where he co-managed the Davis Appreciation and Income Fund to noteworthy returns. Voss holds a BA in economics and an MBA in finance and accounting from the University of Colorado.

Ethics Statement

My statement of ethics is very simple, really: I treat others as I would like to be treated. In my opinion, all systems of ethics distill to this simple statement. If you believe I have deviated from this standard, I would love to hear from you: [email protected]

5 thoughts on “European Sovereign Debt Crisis: Pertinent Statistics”

  1. JOHN SHARMA says:

    This is very informatiive.

    1. Hi John,

      Sorry for the very delayed response. Thank you for your comment and I am glad that this was informative.

      With smiles,

      Jason

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