ZAGREB, April 23, 2018 - Croatia is among 12 EU member states that generated a budget surplus in 2017, but it is also one of 15 countries with a public debt to GDP ratio of more than 60%, Eurostat said on Monday.
Croatia recorded a general government budget surplus of 0.8% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017, after recording a deficit of 0.9% in 2016. Its surplus was equal to that of Greece (0.8%), Eurostat reported.
The largest government surplus was registered in Malta (+3.9%), followed by Cyprus (+1.8%), the Czech Republic (+1.6%), Luxembourg (+1.5%), Sweden and Germany (both +1.3%), the Netherlands (+1.1%), Denmark (+1.0%) and Bulgaria (+0.9%).
On the other hand, the lowest government deficits as a percentage of GDP were recorded in Ireland and Estonia (both -0.3%), Latvia (-0.5%) and Finland (-0.6%). Two member states had deficits equal to or higher than 3% of GDP: Spain (-3.1%) and Portugal (-3.0%).
Slovenia was the only country that reported a government balance.
The EU28 recorded a deficit of 1.0% of GDP compared to a deficit of 1.6% in 2016.
Croatia recorded a public debt to GDP ratio of 78%, which was 2.6 percentage points lower than in 2016. Croatia is among 14 countries that had a public debt to GDP ratio of more than 60%, as the threshold set by the Maastricht Treaty.
Fifteen member states had government debt ratios higher than 60% of GDP, with the highest registered in Greece (178.6%), Italy (131.8%), Portugal (125.7%), Belgium (103.1%) and Spain (98.3%).
The lowest ratios of government debt to GDP were recorded in Estonia (9.0%), Luxembourg (23.0%), Bulgaria (25.4%), the Czech Republic (34.6%), Romania (35.0%) and Denmark (36.4%).
