Spain's public debt reaches 117% of GDP owing to pandemic

Bank of Spain figures released Wednesday show the country’s public debt was equivalent to 117% of GDP at the end of 2020.

The bank said Spain’s public debt stockpile stood at 1.3 trillion euros ($1.6 trillion) compared to its annual GDP of 1.1 trillion euros.

The figure was up 10% from December 2019.

The bank said the public debt decreased by 1.3 billion euros in December 2020 compared to a month earlier as the economy showed signs of improvement.

The figures were preliminary and may be revised in coming weeks, the bank said.The economy has suffered greatly because of the COVID-19 pandemic, shrinking 11% last year as public expenditure increased and income shrank.

Spain hopes 140 billion euros ($162 billion) of European Union pandemic aid will help it to reshape the economy and create 800,000 jobs over the next three years.