Spain’s public debt hits 84 per cent of annual GDP, Catalonia most indebted region

MADRID – Spain’s central bank says the country’s debt burden rose to a record 84.1 per cent of its annual gross domestic product at the end of 2012.

It says Friday that the country’s debt mountain at the year-end was €884.4 billion ($1.14 trillion), up 20.1 per cent on the previous year’s total.

Catalonia remained the most indebted of the country’s 17 regions with debts of €51 billion, followed by Valencia with €29 billion.

The Spanish government has said it expects its debt burden to rise to 90.5 per cent in 2013.

The country is battling to emerge from its second recession in just over three years. It has 26 per cent unemployment.