SKOPJE (North Macedonia), December 23 (SeeNews) – North Macedonia's parliament has approved the 2020 budget projecting a deficit equivalent to 2.3% of gross domestic product (GDP), down from 2.5% planned for 2019, the finance ministry said.
The budget projects GDP growth of 3.8% next year, the finance ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
Budget revenue is planned at 222.3 billion denars ($3.98 billion/3.59 billion euro) in 2020, an increase of 5.6% compared to the estimate for this year, while expenditure is projected at 239.7 billion denars, up 5%.
Inflation is expected to remain low at 1.7% next year, while gross investments are projected to increase by 8.0%.
Net wages are expected to grow by 6.3% in 2020, while unemployment is expected to drop to below 16%.
North Macedonia's real GDP grew by an estimated 2.7% year-on-year in 2018, preliminary official figures showed in September. In 2017, the country recorded 1.1% economic growth.
(1 euro = 61.90 denars)