October 24, 2023 – In 2022, the share of Croatian public debt in GDP was significantly below the EU and Eurozone average. Additionally, Croatia was among the five countries with a budget surplus, Eurostat reported.
At the EU level, public debt expressed as a share of GDP was 83.5 percent last year, Eurostat calculated, lowering the estimate from April by half a percent. The calculations for 2021 showed a share of 87.4 percent of GDP.
In the Eurozone, writes Poslovni, public debt amounted to 91.0 percent last year, new Eurostat estimates showed. The analysis showed that it was also lower by 0.6 percentage points than what statisticians calculated in April. They confirmed that in 2021 it was 94.8 percent.
The budget deficit in the EU dropped to 3.3 percent last year, from 4.7 percent in 2021 and was slightly smaller than preliminary calculations showed. In the eurozone, it dropped from 5.2 to 3.6 percent.
In approximately half of the EU member states, the public debt expressed as a share of GDP exceeded the prescribed ceiling of 60 percent in 2022, according to the final data.
Aat the end of last year, it was the highest in Greece – about 70 percent higher than their GDP.
They are followed by Italy, where it was about 42 percent higher, and Portugal, France, and Spain, with a debt higher than GDP by about 12 percent.
Croatian Public Debt
In Croatia, the consolidated debt of the general government at the end of last year amounted to 46.346 billion euros, which corresponded to 68.2 percent of GDP, new calculations show. The April estimate showed a debt of 46.08 billion euros, with a share in GDP of 68.4 percent.
At the end of 2021, Croatian public debt amounted to 45.63 billion euros, which according to the new calculations, amounts to a share in GDP of 78.1 percent. Preliminary calculations in April showed a share of 78.4 percent.
The closest to Croatia in terms of the share of public debt in GDP in 2022, according to the final data, was Germany, where it amounted to 66.1 percent.
The lowest level of public debt expressed as a share of GDP at the end of last year, according to Eurostat’s final data, was recorded by Estonia, at 18.5 percent.
Five countries With a Surplus
Last year, 22 EU countries recorded a budget deficit, while five recorded a surplus, including Croatia.
In 12 countries, the deficit exceeded the ceiling of three percent, which was suspended due to the pandemic and the energy crisis. Italy recorded the highest deficit of eight percent of GDP. Hungary and Romania are close behind with 6.2 percent.
Croatia ended last year with a surplus in the consolidated general government budget of 76 million euros, which corresponded to 0.1 percent of GDP, according to Eurostat’s final data. Preliminary calculations showed a surplus of 262 million euros, which corresponded to 0.4 percent of GDP.
In 2021, the Croatian state budget was in a deficit of 1.46 billion euros, which corresponded to 2.5 percent of GDP, according to the final data. A preliminary estimate published in April showed a deficit of 1.45 billion euros, with the same share in GDP.
Denmark recorded the largest increase in the budget last year, at 3.3 percent. The group with a budget surplus also includes Cyprus, Ireland and Sweden, where it amounted to 2.4, 1.7 percent, and 1.1 percent of GDP, Eurostat found.
