The International Monetary Fund (IMF) left unchanged its 2014 economic growth forecast for Slovakia at 2.3% in the April edition of its World Economic Outlook (WEO). The fund also projected the Slovak economic growth to speed up to 3% next year.
The Central European country remains an outperformer in the eurozone, where the GDP is expected to grow by an average of 1.2% this year and tick up to 1.5% in 2015.
The IMF lowered its inflation forecast for Slovakia for 2014 to 0.7% from previously expected 2%. The consumer price inflation is projected at 1.6% in 2015.
The IMF expects Slovakia's labour market to start improving this year, estimating that the unemployment rate will fall to 13.9% in 2014 and to 13.6% the next year. However, the Slovak jobless rate will stay significantly above the projected eurozone average of 11.9% and 11.6% for this and next year, respectively.
| Slovakia's macroeconomic indicators | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
| Real GDP growth | 0.9% | 2.3% | 3.0% |
| Average annual inflation | 1.5% | 0.7% | 1.6% |
| Current account balance, % of GDP | 2.4% | 2.7% | 2.9% |
| Unemployment | 14.2% | 13.9% | 13.6% |
| Source: IMF's April WEO |
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