The Bank of Spain said Friday, March 16 that the country’s debt stood at 68.5 percent of GDP at the end of 2011, the highest ratio since 1995.

According to AP, the bank said in a report that this marked a 2.5 point increase from the third quarter of 2011. At the close of 2010 it was 61.2.

Spain’s debt percentage is well below the EU average but its borrowing costs are higher due to concerns about its economic outlook and depressed property market.

The debt load, which includes regional and local debt, was €735 billion ($960 billion) at the end of 2011.

Debt owed by the 17 semiautonomous regions shot up 17.2 percent last year. The worst-off was Catalonia, the wealthy and powerful northeast region whose capital is Barcelona. It accounted for nearly a third of all regional debt.