Greece Will No Longer Be the Country with the Most Debt in Europe

Apr 24, 2026, 10:15

Introduction

By the end of this year, Greece will not be the country with the most debt in Europe. Its debt compared to its economy will be less than Italy''s debt. This information comes from official numbers and statements from important people.

Main Body

Two important Greek people said that Greece''s debt will go down to about 137% of its economy in 2026. In 2025, it was 145.9%. This means Greece''s debt will be less than Italy''s debt. Italy''s debt will be 138.6% of its economy in 2026. That is up from 137.1% in 2025. Italy''s plan says its debt will stay near 138.5% in 2027, then go down to 137.9% in 2028 and 136.3% in 2029. Greece''s debt went down a lot in the last few years. It fell from 209.4% of its economy in 2020 to 145.9% in 2025. That is a drop of more than 60 percentage points. This happened after a big financial crisis and three international loans. The loans were about 280 billion euros. Greece will pay back early some loans of about 7 billion euros later this year. Italy reduced its debt by about 17 percentage points in the same time. Italy''s leader, Giorgia Meloni, said Italy''s debt did not go down faster because of building incentives from before. Italy''s economy did not grow much. After a strong recovery from the pandemic, Italy had three years of growth less than 1% from 2023 to 2025. It got a lot of EU money for recovery, but growth is still slow. The plan says this slow growth will continue to 2029. Greece''s economy grew more than 2% each year for the last three years. That is better than the EU average. This growth came from investments, spending inside the country, and tourism. The new debt numbers for Greece will be in a plan. Greece will give this plan to the European Commission at the end of this month.

Conclusion

Greece will no longer be the country with the most debt in Europe by the end of 2026. Its debt compared to its economy will be less than Italy''s. This shows the two countries have different paths for their money and their economies.

Vocabulary Learning

debt
Money that you owe to someone.你欠別人的錢。
Example:Greece has a lot of debt.
economy
The system of making and spending money in a country.一個國家製造和花費金錢的系統。
Example:The economy is growing slowly.
growth
When something becomes bigger or more.當某事物變得更大或更多。
Example:The economy had good growth last year.
less
A smaller amount or number.更少的數量或數字。
Example:Greece's debt is less than Italy's debt.
pay
To give money for something you buy or owe.為你購買或欠的東西付錢。
Example:Greece will pay back some loans early.

Sentence Learning

Greece will no longer be the country with the most debt in Europe.
Simple future tense with 'will' and 'no longer' indicates a change.本句使用将来时态'will'以及'no longer'表示状态的改变。
Its debt compared to its economy will be less than Italy's debt.
Comparative structure 'less than' to compare two things.本句使用比较结构'less than'来比较两个事物。
Greece's debt will go down to about 137% of its economy in 2026.
Future tense 'will go down' and preposition 'to' indicate a target.本句使用将来时态'will go down'以及介词'to'表示目标数值。
Italy's debt will be 138.6% of its economy in 2026.
Simple future tense with 'will be' and percentage expression.本句使用简单将来时'will be'以及百分比表达。
Greece's economy grew more than 2% each year for the last three years.
Past simple tense 'grew' with 'more than' and time phrase.本句使用一般过去时'grew'，搭配'more than'以及时间短语。