SKOPJE (Macedonia), November 16 (SeeNews) – Macedonia's government said it has approved the 2019 draft budget which projects a deficit equivalent to 2.5% of the gross domestic product (GDP), down 0.2 percentage points compared with 2018.
“The planned deficit is in line with the fiscal strategy of the Republic of Macedonia for 2019-2021 and confirms the planned fiscal consolidation,” the government said in a statement on Thursday.
The draft budget is built on a GDP growth forecast of 3.2% in 2019, according to data published on the website of the finance ministry.
Budget revenue is forecast at 210.8 billion denars ($3.9 billion/3.4 billion euro) in 2019, while expenditure is projected at 228.5 billion denars.
Inflation in Macedonia is forecast to accelerate to 2.0% next year, from 1.7% expected in 2018, while the unemployment rate is expected to fall to around 20%, from 21.5% anticipated in 2018.
Nominal net wages are expected to grow by 4.5% in 2019, according to the budget draft.
(1 euro = 61.09 denars)