Prime Minister: Armenia’s budget deficit ratio to GDP narrowed to 2.8%

YEREVAN, September 24. /ARKA/. Armenia’s budget deficit GDP was recorded at 2.8% against the 3.9% projected by the government, Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan said Monday presenting the government’s report on performance of the 2011 budget to lawmakers. He said the deficit had been narrowed by about 4.8 percentage points since 2009. 

The premier also said that tax revenue, including social payments, grew 11.1%, compared with 2010, and the ratio of tax revenue to GDP increased by 0.4 percentage points to 20.6%. 

“The budget revenue grew 12.9% and its ratio to GDP 32.3%,” he said. “This is 0.8% higher than the 2010 result and 0.4% higher than the projected indicator mainly thanks to additional grants.”

Budget spending grew 3.4% in 2011, compared with the previous year, despite budget consolidation

“The spending has grown mainly due to the 6.9-percent increase in social expenses,” he said. “We have managed not only to maintain social security expenses, but also increase them amid the financial and economic crisis. As a result, their share in GDP exceeded the projected indicator by 0.5% in 2011 and stood at 6.7%.” 

In 2011 government budget, revenue was projected at AMD 652.4 billion, spending at AMD 1,001 billion and deficit at more than AMD 148.6 billion. ($1 – AMD 407.09).-0-