The Spanish public debt rose from 72.9 percent of GDP in the first quarter to 76 percent in the second quarter of 2012, according to data published Wednesday by the European Union's (EU) statistical office Eurostat.

This implies a 9.3-percent increase in comparison with the same period of 2011, when the Spanish public debt reached 66.7 percent of GDP.

In annual terms, this is the fourth biggest rise among eurozone countries with Spain following on the heels of Cyprus, Portugal and Ireland.

Greece, Italy, Portugal and Ireland are the four countries with the highest level of government debt ratio in the EU, with 150.3 percent, 126.1 percent, 117.5 percent and 111.5 percent respectively.

Despite the increase, Spain's figure is below the eurozone average, which increased from 88.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012 and from 87.1 percent in the same period of 2011 to 90 percent in the second quarter of 2012.