In 2019, the government deficit of both the euro area (EA19) and the EU27 increased in relative terms compared with 2018, while the government debt declined in both zones. In the euro area the government deficit to GDP ratio rose from 0.5% in 2018 to 0.6% in 2019, and in the EU27 from 0.4% to 0.6%. In the euro area the government debt to GDP ratio decreased from 85.8% at the end of 2018 to 84.1% at the end of 2019, and in the EU27 from 79.6% to 77.8%.