Government: Public Finance Deficit Rose to 5.2 percent of GDP Last Year

Bratislava, November 6 (TASR) - The public finance deficit reached 5.2 percent of GDP, or €6.4 billion, last year, growing by 3.5 percentage points, or €4.6 billion, year-on-year, according to the Summary Annual Report of the Slovak Republic for 2023, which was approved by the government on Wednesday. Total general government revenues in 2023 amounted to €53.2 billion (43.3 percent of GDP), while total expenditures reached €59.6 billion (48.5 percent of GDP). The gross public debt had amounted to €68.9 billion (56.1 percent of GDP) by the end of last year. Its ratio to GDP decreased by 1.6 percentage points year-on-year, but increased by €5.4 billion in nominal terms. In terms of the 27 EU-member states, five countries had bigger deficits and 13 countries had a higher debt than Slovakia last year, according to the Finance Ministry. The average public deficit in the EU stood at 3.5 percent of GDP, with the average debt reaching 80.8 percent of GDP. On average, the deficit increased by 0.3 percentage points year-on-year, while the gross debt, conversely, fell by 1.7 percentage points. zel/df