December 28 (SeeNews) - North Macedonia's parliament approved the 2023 draft budget that projects deficit equivalent to 4.6% of the estimated gross domestic product (GDP), or 42.7 billion denars ($737.7 million/693 million euro), the finance ministry said.
GDP growth of 2.9% and inflation rate of 7.1% are projected in the 2023 budget, the finance ministry said in a statement last week.
Budget revenue is planned at 282 billion denars ($4.9 billion/4.6 billion euro), an increase of 14.8% compared to 2022, while total expenditure is projected at 324.8 billion denars, up 12.6%.
The budget includes expenditure for dealing with the consequences of the energy crisis, laying the foundations for economic recovery and accelerating economic growth and fiscal sustainability, the ministry said.
North Macedonia's economy expanded by an estimated 2% year-on-year in real terms in the third quarter of 2022, after growing by an annual 2.8% in the previous three-month period, according to data announced earlier by the country's statistical office. The government has projected a deficit of 42.7 billion denars in this year's budget, equivalent to 5.3% of the planned GDP.
The country posted a budget gap of 23.8 billion denars in the 11 months through November, compared with a 30 billion denars shortfall in the same period last year, according to the latest data by the finance ministry.
(1 euro = 61.63 denars)