The Government of Montenegro has finalized the Draft Law on the Final Account of the Montenegrin Budget for 2023. According to preliminary data from the Statistical Office, the gross domestic product (GDP) for 2023 amounted to 6,847.12 million EUR in nominal terms. Current revenues in 2023 reached 2,495.2 million EUR, which is 5.9% higher than planned and constitutes 36.4% of GDP.
During the observed period, nearly all categories of current revenues recorded growth compared to the planned amount and the previous year, as stated in the Government’s announcement.
Budgetary expenditure in 2023 amounted to 2,555.3 million EUR, accounting for 37.3% of GDP. Social benefits represent the largest portion of budgetary expenditure (32.3%) and amounted to 824.8 million EUR in 2023, marking a 23.6% increase compared to the previous year. This increase resulted from higher disbursements related to social protection rights and pension and disability insurance rights, due to regular and extraordinary adjustments in line with applicable legal regulations.
Gross salaries constitute another significant component of budgetary expenditure (25.17%) and totaled 643.1 million EUR, which is 1.5% lower than planned but 18.5% higher than the previous year. These disbursements were executed in accordance with applicable legal provisions, signed collective agreements, and actual wage calculations.
Capital expenditures in 2023 amounted to 238.6 million EUR, which is 3.5% lower than budgeted, primarily due to lower realization of planned capital projects. This figure is also 0.7% lower compared to the previous year.
As of December 31, 2023, the total state debt (excluding deposits) stood at 4,059.9 million EUR, equivalent to 59.3% of GDP. Including deposits, the total state debt at the end of 2023 amounted to 3,907.5 million EUR or 57.1% of GDP.
External debt amounted to 3,517.3 million EUR, accounting for 51.4% of GDP, while internal debt totaled 542.6 million EUR, representing 7.9% of GDP. The state debt also includes a portion of local government debt amounting to 36.9 million EUR, based on agreements concluded by the Ministry of Finance with international creditors and subsequently transferred to municipalities in the form of transfer loans.
