Rome, 22 October (AKI) - A report by the European Commission said on Wednesday that the deficit in Italy has continued to climb and that the country remains the most indebted in the Eurozone as percentage of Gross Domestic Product.

Italy tops the list in the 16-country Eurozone in public debt as percentage of GDP with 105.8 percent, followed by Greece with 99.2 percent, said the report by Eurostat whose task is to provide the European Union with statistical information.

"Nine Member States had government debt ratios higher than 60 per cent of GDP in 2008: Italy (105.8), Greece (99.2), Belgium (89.8), Hungary (72.9), France (67.4), Portugal (66.3), Germany (65.9), Malta (63.8) and Austria (62.6)."

Italy also has the third largest public debt in the world.

In the 16-country Eurozone, the average of public debt as percentage of GDP is 69.3 percent - an increase of 3.3 percent since 2007 when the average stood at 66 percent.

The average of public debt as percentage of GDP in the 27-country European Union, however, stands at 61.5 percent.

Also, Italy's deficit stands at 2.7 per cent of GDP, registering an increase of 1.2 percent compared to 2007 when it stood at 1.5 percent. The deficit/GDP in Eurozone countries averaged 2.0 percent.