Spanish public administration debt rose 4.3% year-on-year to 1.763 trillion euros in the second quarter of 2026, adding 23.295 billion euros compared to the first quarter.
The debt-to-GDP ratio dropped 1.8 percentage points from the second quarter of 2025 to 101.4%, with the government targeting 99.3% by the end of 2026.
Central administration debt grew 4.2% year-on-year to 1.613 trillion euros (92.8% of GDP), while social security debt rose 7.9% to 136.178 billion euros.
Autonomous communities accumulated 355.241 billion euros (20.4% of GDP), with Castilla-La Mancha reducing its ratio to 28.1% and Cantabria standing at 17.2%.
Total Spanish public administration debt climbed to 1.763 trillion euros in the second quarter of 2026, adding 23.295 billion euros compared to the previous quarter. The nominal balance increased 4.3% year-on-year, rising above the 1.740 trillion euros registered in the first quarter of 2026 according to Banco de España quarterly data. In relative terms, the debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 101.4% between April and June 2026, representing a decrease of 1.8 percentage points from the second quarter of 2025 while matching the level recorded in the first quarter of 2026. The Spanish government projects the debt ratio to fall to 99.3% by the end of 2026, advancing its plan to bring the figure below 100% one year earlier than scheduled. The executive branch has not specified when debt will fall beneath the 60% threshold outlined by the European Commission, though its medium-term fiscal framework projects a downward trajectory.
The central administration accumulated 1.613 trillion euros in debt by the second quarter of 2026, reflecting a 4.2% year-on-year increase. The central government balance expanded by 11.401 billion euros from the first quarter of 2026 and by 64.752 billion euros compared to the same period in 2025. Despite the nominal growth, the central government debt ratio declined six-tenths of a percentage point to 92.8% of GDP. Liabilities held by the social security administrations reached 136.178 billion euros, representing 7.8% of GDP and an increase of 7.9% compared to the prior year. This growth reflects state loans granted to the General Treasury of Social Security to finance pension system budgetary deficits, which function as internal financial transfers between public subsectors.
Data from the article text
Spain's autonomous communities held a collective debt of 355.241 billion euros in the second quarter of 2026, marking an increase of 8.312 billion euros over the previous quarter and 12.442 billion euros over the second quarter of 2025. Regional debt accounted for 20.4% of national GDP, up from 20.2% in the first quarter of 2026, with an annual expansion of 3.6%. Five autonomous communities kept their debt-to-GDP ratio below 13%. Castilla-La Mancha lowered its ratio by 1.2 percentage points over twelve months, moving from 29.3% in June 2025 to 28.1% in June 2026. This was the second largest annual decrease among the regions, behind only Navarra, and compared to an average reduction of 0.5 percentage points across all communities. Since June 2015, when regional president Emiliano García-Page assumed office, Castilla-La Mancha reduced its ratio from 35.3% to 28.1%, an improvement 3.4 percentage points wider than the regional average.
Cantabria recorded 3.325 billion euros in public debt in the second quarter of 2026, representing 17.2% of its regional GDP. The regional debt expanded by 109 million euros (3.39%) relative to the first quarter of 2026, but contracted by 9 million euros (0.27%) compared to the second quarter of 2025. Cantabria's debt-to-GDP ratio rose by 0.3 percentage points from 16.9% in the first quarter of 2026, while dropping 1.1 percentage points from 18.3% in the second quarter of 2025, giving the region the eighth lowest ratio in Spain. In nominal volume, Cantabria recorded the third lowest debt total among Spanish autonomous communities in the second quarter of 2026, behind La Rioja at 1.986 billion euros and Navarra at 2.446 billion euros.
Data from the article text
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Total liabilities across Spanish public administrations climbed 4.3% year-on-year to 1.763 trillion euros between April and June 2026, while the debt-to-GDP ratio dropped 1.8 percentage points from a year earlier.
AI text based on reports by ABC TU DIARIO EN ESPAÑOL, eldiario.es and La Razón. Published .