LJUBLJANA: Slovenia's budget surplus should reach 235 million euros ($270 million), or 0.5 percent of gross domestic product, this year versus 0.1 percent in 2017, the statistics office said on Friday, citing the forecast of the finance ministry.
The surplus will be larger than the finance ministry forecast a year ago, when it was projected at 0.4 percent of GDP.
The office also said public debt will increase to 32.1 billion euros this year from 31.9 billion in 2017, but economic growth will decrease it as a percentage of GDP. It will reach 70.3 percent of GDP this year versus 74.1 percent last year.
Slovenia, which narrowly avoided an international bailout of its banks in 2013, returned to growth a year later. A robust expansion, based on exports, investments and household spending, enabled it to erase budget deficits and reduce debt.
Finance Minister Andrej Bertoncelj said last week the country expects a surplus of 0.2 percent of GDP in 2019 and debt is due to fall to 66.6 percent of GDP, mainly because of economic growth.
The government expects the economy to expand by 3.7 percent in 2019 versus 4.4 percent this year.
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