On Monday, the government adopted the annual report on the implementation of the 2023 state budget, according to which revenue will amount to €27.4 billion and expenditure to €28.1 billion, with a general government deficit of 0.7 per cent of GDP according to the international ESA methodology.

Finance Minister Marko Primorac recalled that GDP grew by 3.1 per cent last year compared to 2022, with the largest contributions to growth coming from the decline in imports, household consumption and government spending.

Under these conditions, budget revenues amounted to 27.4 billion euros, an increase of 20.1 per cent compared to 2022. Tax revenue amounted to 15.5 billion euros, an increase of 19.3 per cent, and revenue from pension insurance contributions was 15.3 per cent higher than in the previous year at 4.4 billion euros.

Total expenditure of 28.1 billion euros was 20.9 per cent higher than in 2022.

The total budget surplus according to the national methodology amounted to 34.3 million euros, which corresponds to 0.04 per cent of GDP.

According to the international ESA methodology, the general government budget deficit for 2023 amounted to 528.3 million euros or 0.7 per cent of GDP.

The public debt to GDP ratio was 63 per cent at the end of 2023 and there are plans to reduce this ratio below the Maastricht limit of 60 per cent by the end of the year, Primorac said.