Public debt increases by EUR 900 mln in August

BELGRADE - Serbia's public debt rose from EUR 20.94 billion in July to EUR 21.84 billion by September 3 this year, an increase of about EUR 900 million, Serbia's Public Debt Administration said in a release on Thursday.

At the end of July this year, Serbia's debt was 64.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), although the Budget System Law provides for a debt-to-GDP ratio of up to 45 percent.

In late 2013, public debt reached EUR 20.14 billion, which was 63.8 percent of GDP.

According to official data, Serbia's debt at end-2000 amounted to EUR 14.17 billion, which at the time was 169.3 percent of GDP, and since then, the lowest amount of debt was seen in 2008 and it amounted to EUR 8.78 billion, which was 29.2 percent of the country's GDP.

Photo Tanjug, Z. Zestic (illustration)