The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has brought its forecast for the Slovenian economy broadly in line with other forecasters. After projecting in spring that the economy will contract by 8%, it now thinks the contraction will be 6.7%.
Next year GDP is expected to expand by 5.2%, broadly in line with its previous forecast, according to the latest World Economic Outlook, which was released on Tuesday.
The figures indicate Slovenia will significantly outperform the eurozone as a whole, which is projected to record a 8.3% contraction this year before growing by 5.2% in 2021.
The report also indicates Slovenia’s inflation, projected to be at 0.5% this year, accelerating to 1.8% in 2021. The unemployment rate is expected to top out at 8% this year before climbing back to 6%.
The budget deficit is projected at 8.8% of GDP this year, which is more optimistic than the government’s own estimate of 9.3%, before dropping to 2.8%. The Slovenian government has budgeted the deficit at 5.6% of GDP in 2021.
The national budget is not expected to return to a minimal surplus before 2024.
