Italy's public debt hits 2.86 tln euros in 2023

ROME: Italy's public debt reached 2.86 trillion euros (US$3.08 trillion) at the end of 2023, an increase of 105 billion euros compared to the level a year ago, the Bank of Italy said on Thursday.

Italy's debt was estimated to be equivalent to around 140 per cent of GDP at the end of last year, down from a debt level of 141.7 per cent of GDP at the end of 2022, the bank said in a statement.

The biggest part of the increase came from 89 billion euros spent on public administration, it said.

On Thursday, the European Commission downgraded its estimates for Italian economic growth this year to 0.7 per cent, from 0.9 per cent previously. Its growth forecast for Italy is 1.2 per cent for 2025. -Bernama