Looking ahead, an ambitious additional consolidation effort appears necessary if Slovakia is to reach its medium-term objective for the structural deficit of 0.8% of GDP in 2010. The vitality of the country’s economy can be seen by comparing its real GDP growth with that of the euro area.
Between 2000 and 2007 average economic growth in Slovakia was 5.6%, significantly above the average economic growth in the euro area. This resulted in real economic convergence as the GDP per inhabitant in purchasing power parity terms as a percentage of the GDP per inhabitant of the “euro area” increased from below 44% in 2000 to above 62% in 2007.