Stats: General Government Deficit Up to 5.27 percent of GDP Last Year

Bratislava, April 17 (TASR) - Slovakia's general government deficit reached almost €7 billion last year to make up 5.27 percent of GDP, slightly up from 5.19 percent seen in 2023, the Statistics Office reported as part of the so-called spring notification on Slovakia's deficit and debt on Thursday. The country's public debt deepened to 59.3 percent of GDP. "The absolute majority of last year's deficit was generated by the central state administration. It ended with a deficit of €7.15 billion, which was slightly more than in 2023, when it showed a deficit of €6.78 billion," said the office. Local government ended last year with a deficit amounting to almost €130 million, which was a deterioration from 2023, when it showed a surplus of €81.3 million. Social-security funds posted a surplus amounting to €370 million, which was an improvement by €100 million when compared to 2023. "The public debt reached €77.65 billion last year, making up 59.28 percent of GDP. The value of the public debt grew by €8.75 billion year-on-year (y-o-y). In 2023 the public debt amounted to €68.90 billion, accounting for 55.64 percent of GDP," said the office. The Statistics office submitted a Report on the Deficit and Debt of the Slovak Republic in 2021-2025 to the European Commission within the regular deadline of April 1 of this year. When compared to the October 2024 report (autumn notification), several changes were incorporated into the national accounts system, which also affected deficit and debt data. The refined data concerned accrual taxes and social contributions, as well as payments related to aid with energy prices for 2023. The current general government deficit and public debt data have been calculated from the updated GDP figure based on the regular spring revision. ko/df