New data published by the Bank of Italy shows that the public debt of the Italian government surged by almost ($5.6 billion) over the first five months of 2023, reaching a record in May.

In May, government debt hit €2.816 trillion ($3.1 trillion) after passing the €2.800-trillion mark in April, according to the data. That marked a €4.8 billion ($5.3 billion) increase over the previous month, according to the regulator.

Massimiliano Dona, President of the National Union of Italian Consumers (UNC) said, “Another historic record! This is a big disaster for our country, given the constant rise in interest rates, leading to an increase in the burden of public debt, which the Italians pay from their taxes.”

One of the most highly indebted nations in the world, Italy is the second most debt-stricken nation in the Eurozone, after Greece.

According to the UNC, the Italian debt averages out to the equivalent of €47,862 ($53,729) per citizen, or about €107,500 ($120,667) per family.

Dona said, “It is impossible to cut taxes while the public debt is out of control. We have to change its structure by helping low-income households and by raising windfall taxes.”

During the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Italy’s ratio of debt to gross domestic product (GDP) hit an all-time high of roughly 155%. Since then the Italian economy has somewhat recovered however the ratio has remained among the highest in the EU, coming in at 144% for the last quarter of 2022, according to Eurostat.