Debt service ratio, four largest economies
Fetched 18 Sep 2026, 10:17 UTC
13.6 %
Normal 1.4 pp below the 15.0 % trigger · flat

GDP-weighted average of Germany, France, Italy and Spain: the BIS publishes no euro-area debt service ratio.

As of Q1 2026 · Threshold > 10-yr mean + 1 pp
Recession, Jan 2008 to Jun 2009Recession, Jul 2011 to Mar 2013Recession, Oct 2019 to Jun 202013141516Threshold > 10-yr mean + 1 ppTrigger > 10-yr mean + 1 pp200020052010201520202025
1999 to 2026 · percent. Shaded bands are recessions.
What it is

Interest plus amortisation of the private non-financial sector as a share of income, weighted across the four largest euro-area economies.

Threshold source: Drehmann and Juselius (2012), BIS. How thresholds are chosen

Known weaknesses

A weighted proxy. National ratios diverge widely, and the BIS assumes a standard maturity across all debt.