Fourteen of the 27 European Union countries had a debt of more than 60% of its gross domestic product in late 2010, according to official statistics.

The report from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Union showed that the proportion of public debt to GDP in the 27 Member States increased by 74.4% in 2009 to 80.0% in 2010.

For the 17 countries of the euro area, debt is even higher, increasing by 79.3% in 2009 to 85.1% last year.

League Leader debt in Europe is Greece with 142.8% of the debt as a percentage of GDP, followed by Italy (119.0%), Belgium (96.8%), Ireland (96, 2%), Portugal (93.0%), Germany (83.2%), France (81.7%), Hungary (80.2%) and the United Kingdom (80.0%).

Relatively low public debt in GDP were recorded in Estonia (6.6%), Bulgaria (16.2%) and Luxembourg (18.4%), according to the Eurostat report.

Under the Stability and Growth Pact, agreed when the euro began in 1999, Member States should ensure the debt will not exceed 60% of GDP.

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/BUSINESS/06/19/europe.debt.explainer/index.html