Government debt up 33 per cent

GOVERNMENT debt rose by one third in 2001 from the year before to Sk296.7 billion ($6.2 billion), almost 31 per cent of GDP. Most of the debt (Sk271 billion) was owed to domestic banks. Debt with less than one-year maturity rose 2 per cent to Sk70.6 billion, while government-guaranteed debt rose 4 per cent to Sk154.6 billion.