Greece reported on Tuesday a better-than-expected 2024 primary budget surplus, thanks to higher tax revenues amid a growing economy.
The surplus came in at 4.8% of economic output last year or 11.4 billion euros ($13.11 billion), according to a first reading of 2021-2024 fiscal data released by the Greek statistics office on Tuesday.
The figure beat the government’s estimate for a primary surplus of 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP).
Greece has emerged from a 2009-2018 debt crisis which shaved off a quarter of its output, with its economy outpacing its euro zone peers.
But maintaining primary budget surpluses – which exclude debt servicing costs, social security and local administration budgets – is key for the sustainability of the nation’s public debt – still the highest in the euro zone.
Greece’s debt has fallen by more than 40 percentage points since 2021 to 153.6% of GDP in 2024, the data showed.
($1 = 0.8695 euros)