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Eurostat · General government

How much debt do we have, and who holds it?

At the end of 2025 Italy’s public debt is worth €3,097.1bn, 136.7% of GDP.

Eurostat, with data supplied by ISTAT. Debt covers all public bodies; debts between them are excluded. GDP (gross domestic product) measures what the economy produces in a year.

Question 1 of 4

How much debt do we have?

Public debt at the end of 2025€3,097.1bnof all general government: State, local authorities, social security
  1. Italy136.7%
  2. EU-2781.5%

Debt (% of GDP)

Debt as a percentage of GDP, 2025. The ratio to GDP sets the debt beside what the economy produces in a year.

Details, method and source

The stock is the gross consolidated debt of all general government (sector S.13) at year end, in euros as published (Eurostat, gov_10dd_edpt1, item GD). The EU-27 comparison uses the same dataset as a percentage of GDP, in the latest year published for both.

  1. Question 2 of 4

    Has it always been this way?

    From 1995 to 2025In euros the debt went from €1,096.6bn to €3,097.1bn. As a percentage of GDP from 119.1% to 136.7%, with the largest step in 2020: +20.5 points in one year.

    In euros

    The values, year by year

    As a percentage of GDP

    The values, year by year

    Two measures, two scales: the ratio moves when debt, GDP or both move. Euros as published, not revalued. Note on the chart: a portal calculation.

    Details, method and source

    Annual Eurostat series (gov_10dd_edpt1): the stock in euros and the ratio to GDP of the same year. The sentence at the top reads the first and last year and the largest step of the ratio between two consecutive years: a portal calculation, with no causes. No year is interpolated.

  2. Question 3 of 4

    Who holds the debt?

    The largest group, end of 2025€1,063.2bnForeign investors: 34.3% of the debt
    • Total held by all groups€3,095.9bn
    • Foreign investors34.3% · €1,063.2bn

      Governments, central banks, funds and other investors outside Italy.

    • Italian banks20.0% · €618.1bn

      Italian banks and other monetary financial institutions.

    • Banca d’Italia18.5% · €574.1bn

      Banca d’Italia, as part of the Eurosystem: bonds bought under the ECB’s monetary policy programmes.

    • Insurers and funds12.7% · €392.7bn

      Insurers, pension funds, mutual funds and other Italian financial intermediaries.

    • Italian households11.8% · €365.3bn

      Italian households and non-profit institutions, including savers who buy BTP directly.

    • Italian businesses2.7% · €82.5bn

      Italian non-financial companies.

    Debt by holder (billion euros)

    Shares of the official composition total: calculated by this site. Provisional 2025 data (Eurostat). The historical series reports €3,097.1bn for the same year: it is a separate Eurostat publication from this breakdown.

    Details, method and source

    Eurostat (gov_10dd_ggd) splits year-end debt by the sector that holds it: six groups, all from the same year, which add up to the debt. The shares are a portal calculation. “Foreign investors” is the rest of the world (sector S.2).

  3. Question 4 of 4

    How much does the interest cost?

    Interest payable in 2025€87.2bnof all general government, recorded as it accrues (Eurostat)

    All general government, interest accrued (Eurostat)

    The values, year by year

    State, interest authorised (final accounts)

    The values, year by year

    The central State alone authorises €104.8bn for interest and other financial charges in 2025: a final appropriation, not a payment. Eurostat covers all public bodies, using different rules: the two figures cannot be subtracted.

    Details, method and source

    All general government: Eurostat, gov_10a_main, item D41PAY (interest payable), sector S.13 consolidated, accrual basis: interest is counted as it accrues and interest between public bodies is netted out. State: the “Spese per interessi” line of the final-accounts balances (Ragioneria generale dello Stato, BDAP), final appropriation of the central State only, which also includes other financial charges. The two series differ in scope and rules: they are not reconciled by subtraction.

    What the State actually paid: Planned and spent →

More questions about the debt

And compared with schools and universities?

In 2025 the State budget alone authorises €104.8bn for interest and other financial charges and €69.9bn for schools and universities: €58.2bn for the spending area “Istruzione scolastica” (022) and €11.7bn for “Istruzione universitaria e formazione post-universitaria” (023).

State budget only: Ragioneria generale dello Stato, BDAP, final forecasts for the same year. These are authorised amounts, not payments. The “Spese per interessi” line includes other financial charges; it is not the Eurostat figure for all general government. Schools and universities: portal sum of spending areas 022 and 023, current and capital expenditure. Amounts rounded separately.

Download the final-accounts data (JSON)

What form does the debt take? End of 2025

  • Total by debt instrument€3,095.9bn
  • Government bonds84.2% · €2,605.8bn

    BTP, BOT, CCT and other tradeable bonds issued on the market: the large majority of Italy’s debt.

  • Loans10.3% · €319.4bn

    Loans received from banks, other States or international institutions (for example EU funds), not traded as bonds.

  • Currency and deposits5.5% · €170.7bn

    Deposits and other liabilities included in the official “Currency and deposits” category.

Debt by instrument (billion euros)

Provisional 2025 data (Eurostat). The historical series reports €3,097.1bn for the same year: it is a separate Eurostat publication from this breakdown.

Details, method and source

Eurostat (gov_10dd_ggd), instruments F3 (securities), F4 (loans) and F2 (currency and deposits). Shares of the total of the three: a portal calculation.

What maturity is the debt issued with? End of 2025

  • Total by original maturity€3,095.9bn
  • Up to 1 year10.9% · €336.7bn

    Issued with an original maturity of no more than a year: BOT and other short-term instruments. In the European classification this is the definition of “short-term debt”.

  • 1-5 years6.6% · €203.6bn

    Issued with an original maturity between 1 and 5 years.

  • 5-10 years26.5% · €818.9bn

    Issued with an original maturity between 5 and 10 years: the class that includes the ten-year BTP, the benchmark bond for Italian debt.

  • 10-30 years35.7% · €1,105.7bn

    Issued with an original maturity between 10 and 30 years.

  • Over 30 years20.4% · €631.0bn

    Issued with an original maturity of more than 30 years: the part furthest away in time at the moment of issue.

Debt by original maturity (billion euros)

Provisional 2025 data (Eurostat). The historical series reports €3,097.1bn for the same year: it is a separate Eurostat publication from this breakdown.

Details, method and source

Original maturity, that is the term the debt was issued with, not how long is left to repayment (Eurostat, gov_10dd_ggd). Shares of the total of the five classes: a portal calculation.

And health, education, defence? Compare expenditure across Europe →