BRATISLAVA, October 22, (WEBNOVINY) – Last year Slovakia reported general government deficit of 7.9 percent of GDP. The country’s gross public debt represented 35.4 percent of GDP, the EU Statistical Office, the Eurostat, confirmed on Friday. The Finance Ministry commented that Slovakia ended up among less responsible EU states because only seven of 26 countries that provided data, reported a wider gap than Slovakia. In terms of the public debt, the Slovak Republic is among EU member states with lowest indebtedness rate in 2009.
The comparison of deficit changes in 2009 versus 2008 provides similar results. Within the EU27 and the eurozone, Slovakia is among states with strongest increases in the deficit. As for the public debt, the country found itself approximately in the middle of the chart.
Among Visegrad Group countries, the Slovak Republic saw the highest deficit and the biggest change in the deficit as well as the debt in 2009; and was second best in terms of the lowest debt. The difference between Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which posted the lowest debt in the Visegrad Group, was merely 0.1 percent of GDP.
The increase in the deficit is attributable to re-classification of capital injections. Based on information provided by the Ministries of Economy, Transport and Health on the present and expected economic results of companies that received the above mentioned financial assistance, the situation was reassessed and the assistance was reclassified as capital transfers with negative impact on the general government deficit. The influence of revised accrued tax revenues and social contributions was negative, too.
SITA
