Russia's 2016 Budget Deficit Totals 3.5% of GDP

Russia's budget deficit totaled 2.97 trillion rubles ($49.7 billion) last year, constituting 3.5 percent of GDP, data published on the Russian Finance Ministry website said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Revenues amounted to $225.5 billion against $275 billion in expenses, according to the ministry's preliminary data, resulting in a deficit of $49.5 billion.

Finance Minister Anton Siluanov specified on January 12 that Russia's federal budget deficit in 2016 amounted to 3.56 percent of GDP.

Last month, the ministry estimated Russia's 2016 federal budget deficit at 3.9 percent despite the budget law's projected 3.7 percent of GDP.

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