The Croatian public debt, which includes the foreign and domestic debt of the central government, extrabudgetary funds, and local government, amounted to 181.6 billion kuna at the end of March this year, representing a share of 53.6 percent of the estimated GDP, according to data from the Ministry of Finance in the latest issue of the Monthly Statistical Review.
Analysts from the Croatian National Bank in the latest HNB Bulletin note that the general government debt increased by 4.2 billion kuna in the first three months, reaching 181.6 billion kuna, and they expect it could reach around 199 billion kuna, or nearly 60 percent of GDP, by the end of the current year. According to data from the Ministry of Finance publication, the debt of the central government, extrabudgetary funds, and local government was 240 million kuna higher at the end of March than at the end of February.
Compared to the end of last year, it increased by 4.2 billion kuna, or by 2.3 percent. The growth of public debt in the first quarter of this year was primarily influenced by the central government, which increased its debt by nearly four billion kuna, or by 2.4 percent, during that period. Thus, the debt of the central government amounted to 169.8 billion kuna at the end of March.
