Last year's budget revenues increased by 9%, while public debt is expected to reach 55.2% of gross domestic product (GDP), Minister of Finance Petrit Malaj said on Wednesday at the Parliamentary Economy Committee.

He explained that until November 2024, budget revenues exceeded the plan by 3% and recorded an annual increase of almost 10%. Meanwhile, the preliminary data for the 12 months of the year that we left behind indicate a complete realization of the plan and an excess of income by 9% compared to the year 2023.

As a result, public debt is expected to decrease to around 55.2% of GDP by the end of 2024, the lowest level since 2008, Malaj said.

He said that the quality of debt management has improved significantly, where the share of debt in foreign currency has decreased below 45%, while over 80% of the total portfolio is with fixed interest rates.

"Our outlook for the future remains optimistic. Both for the year 2024 that we left behind and for the mid-term period, we predict an economic growth of around 4%. In the labor market, we project that the unemployment rate will continue to decrease further, dropping for the first time historically to a single-digit level (below 10% during the following medium-term period),” said the Minister.

Malaj also said that the commitment to fiscal consolidation remains unwavering, to continue the gradual reduction of the public debt. But of course at the same time, maintaining a relatively high level of investments in education, health, and infrastructure, which remain key priorities for the country's long-term development.

"In reflection of these very good developments of the economy as a whole and the improvements of public finance parameters in particular, we have recently also received an increasing assessment of the perspective from the two prestigious rating agencies, respectively Moody's and Standard & Poor's,” he added.