PIGS (economics)

A graph showing the economic data from Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, the EU and the Eurozone for 2009.

PIGS or PIIGS or PIIGGS is a jargonistic acronym used in economics and finance. The derogatory term refers to the economies of: Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain, four EU member states that were unable to refinance their government debt or to bail out over-indebted banks on their own during the debt crisis; or originally Portugal, Italy, Spain and Greece, four countries in southern Europe.

The term became popularised during the European sovereign-debt crisis of the late 2000s and expanded in use during this period. In the 1990s (when the term probably originated), Ireland was not included in this term, having debt significantly below the Eurozone average, and a government surplus as late as 2006. However, taking on the guarantee of banks' debt, the government budget deficit rose to 32% of GDP in 2010, which was the world's largest. It then became associated with the term replacing Italy or changing the acronym to PIIGS, with Italy also indicated as the second "I". Sometimes a second G (PIGGS or PIIGGS), for Great Britain, was also added. In 2012, Patrick Allen writing for CNBC suggested that France should be added to the list.

The term is widely considered derogatory and its use was curbed during the period of the European crisis by the Financial Times and Barclays Capital in 2010.