At the end of the first quarter of 2019, the government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area (EA19) stood at 85.9%, compared with 85.1% at the end of the fourth quarter of 2018. In the EU28, the ratio increased from 80.0% to 80.7%. However, compared with the first quarter of 2018, the government debt to GDP ratio fell in both the euro area (from 87.1% to 85.9%) and the EU28 (from 81.6% to 80.7%).