VIENNA: Austria's public deficit in 2011 was 3.3 percent of output, lower than the 3.9 percent predicted by the government, the Austria Press Agency reported Friday citing preliminary finance ministry figures.
Public debt stood 72.2 percent of gross domestic product, lower than the projected 73.6 percent, with government spending 2.3 billion euros ($3.0 billion) lower than expected and state income 0.9 billion euros higher.
The main factors were lower-than-expected interest payments on Austria's debt and increased tax receipts, APA said.
Austria lost its triple-A credit rating with Standard & Poor's this month on worries about the eurozone crisis and concerns -- dismissed as exaggerated by Vienna -- about the exposure of Austrian banks to Hungary and Italy.
Chancellor Werner Faymann has said Austria needs to achieve around two billion euros in savings every year but his governing coalition has squabbled over where the axe should fall and on whether taxes should rise.
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