October 21 (SeeNews) - Croatia's consolidated general government budget was in surplus of 992 million kuna ($149 million/113 million euro) at the end of last year, equivalent to 0.3% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), the statistical office said on Monday.
The announcement was made as part of the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) report, which the Croatian statistical office submits to the European Commission twice a year - at the end of March (the April notification) and the end of September (the October notification).
In the April notification the surplus was reported at 758 million kuna, or 0.2% of GDP, the statistical office said in a statement.
The consolidated general government debt figure was only slightly changed to 286.1 billion kuna, or 74.8% of GDP, in the October notification, from 284.7 million kuna, or 74.6% of GDP, in the April notification, the statement said.
Last year was the second straight year in which Croatia reported a budget surplus. The consolidated general government budget closed 2017 with 2.9 billion kuna surplus, equivalent to 0.8% of GDP.
The government plans a budget deficit of 1.7 billion kuna, equivalent to 0.4% of GDP, for 2019. The 2019 budget bill is built on projections of economic growth of 2.9%.
(1 euro = 7.43794 kuna)