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Public Debt Increased by 15.3 Percent

The total public debt, which includes foreign and domestic debt of the central government, off-budget users, and local government, amounted to 135.9 billion kuna at the end of August this year, with its share in GDP being 41 percent, according to data from the Ministry of Finance.

During the first eight months of this year, the total public debt increased by 18.06 billion kuna or 15.3 percent, thus the share of this debt in GDP rose from 35.4 percent at the end of last year to 41 percent at the end of August this year, as shown by data from the Monthly Statistical Review of the Ministry of Finance. This was most influenced by the central government, which increased its debt in the first eight months of this year, compared to the end of 2009, by 17.5 billion kuna or 15.9 percent, and at the end of August, the central government’s debt amounted to 127.8 billion kuna. The central government primarily borrows on the domestic market, and its domestic debt at the end of August amounted to 86.1 billion kuna, which is 11.6 billion kuna or 15.6 percent more than at the end of last year. The foreign debt of the central government at the end of August this year amounted to 41.7 billion kuna, and the foreign component of the debt increased by 16.5 percent or 5.9 billion kuna compared to the end of last year.

Total state guarantees amounted to 43.5 billion kuna at the end of August, which is an increase of 5.3 billion kuna or 13.9 percent compared to the end of last year. Thus, the share of state guarantees in GDP increased from 11.5 percent at the end of 2009 to 13.1 percent at the end of August this year. The total debt of HBOR at the end of August this year amounted to 13.5 billion kuna, which is an increase of 1.2 billion kuna compared to the end of last year, and in terms of GDP share, it grew from 3.7 percent at the end of 2009 to 4.1 percent at the end of August 2010. Therefore, the total public debt, state guarantees, and HBOR debt at the end of August this year amounted to a total of 192.98 billion kuna, which is an increase of 24.6 billion kuna or 14.6 percent compared to the end of last year. Consequently, the share of public debt together with state guarantees and HBOR debt in GDP increased from 50.6 percent at the end of last year to 58.2 percent at the end of August this year. (H)