Nonfinancial sector accounts, 2023
Slovenian economy generated a surplus with the rest of the world in 2023, households saved more
In 2023, the total economy recorded a surplus with the rest of the world. It was generated both by non-financial corporations, which had run a deficit the year before, and by financial corporations, which slightly widened their surplus. Households saved more and the government reduced its deficit.
The total economy ended with a surplus of 4.4% of GDP
In 2023, the total economy recorded a surplus of EUR 2,798 million or 4.4% of GDP in transactions with the rest of the world, compared with a deficit of EUR 784 million or 1.4% of GDP the year before. The balance of trade with the rest of the world amounted to EUR 4,095 million. While services recorded moderate growth of 5.9% on both the export and import side, trade in goods contracted. The decline in imports of goods (8.5%) was larger than the decline in exports of goods (2.1%), reflecting also more favourable terms of trade with the rest of the world.
The size of gross national income (GNI) determines how much Slovenia pays into the European budget. In 2023, it increased from EUR 56,036 million to EUR 63,352 million, i.e. by 13.1% compared to the previous year.
Non-financial corporations generated a surplus
Non-financial corporations generated a surplus of EUR 1,335 million (2.1% of GDP) in 2023, compared with a deficit of EUR 1,788 million (3.1% of GDP) a year earlier. The gross profit share (the share of gross operating surplus in value added of non-financial corporations) increased by 2.9 percentage points compared to 2022 (from 32.4% to 35.3%). However, this is lower than the EU-27 average (41.2%) and the euro area average (40.6%). Investment activity by non-financial corporations declined slightly. The share of gross fixed capital formation in value added (the investment rate of non-financial corporations) fell by 1.1 percentage point year-on-year (from 22.1% to 21.0%). The investment rate of non-financial corporations also fell for the EU-27 average (22.6%) and for the euro area (22.1%), but the decline was smaller (0.5 of a percentage point).
Financial corporations increased their surplus
Financial corporations generated a surplus of EUR 88 million in 2023, higher than the previous year (2022: EUR 18 million), mainly due to higher value added in monetary intermediation. This is due to the amount of interest margins of banks on the deposit side.
General government reduced its deficit
The general government deficit narrowed from EUR 1,715 million (3.0% of GDP) to EUR 1,640 million (2.6% of GDP) in 2023 compared to a year earlier. Both government revenues and expenditures increased, but the growth in revenues slightly exceed the growth in expenditures.
Household gross saving rate higher than a year earlier
In 2023, the household sector together with the NPISHs recorded a surplus of EUR 3,014 million. Their disposable income increased from EUR 35,617 million to EUR 38,644 million compared to 2022, i.e. by 8.5%. Compensation of employees represents the largest share in the structure of total household income (52.3%) and therefore had the largest impact on the increase in gross disposable income. Social benefits, gross operating surplus and mixed income, as well as higher net property income, also contributed to the growth.
Growth in final consumption expenditure lagged behind growth in household disposable income, implying that the share of gross saving in disposable income increased. The gross saving rate was 14.3% in 2023, about 1 percentage point higher than a year earlier. Higher household saving rates were also recorded for the EU-27 average (12.9%) and the euro area (13.7%) in 2023, where the rates are typically lower than in Slovenia.
Benchmark revision of national accounts from 1995 on
National accounts data are subject to benchmark revision every five years. In addition to the regular annual revisions, which include the usual data updates and cover the last four years, at the European level Member States undertake more extensive revisions in the same year, for a longer time series of national accounts data, in order to ensure comparability of national accounts data over time and space. The last such revision was carried out in 2019.
Benchmark revisions are based on changes in estimation methods and changes in data sources that go beyond the annual regular revisions. Their impact is varied, reflected in changes in the level of aggregates or balancing items, both for the economy as a whole and for individual institutional sectors. As a consequence, the revisions are reflected in changes in the values of indicators of the non-financial sector accounts, such as the household saving rate, the investment rate and the profit rate of non-financial corporations. Some revisions have only a limited impact and do not lead to a change in aggregates.
Benchmark revisions often involve revision steps to address and lift formal reservations of the European Commission on whether a country’s gross national income data are appropriate for determining EU’s own resources. For more information on these revisions, see the release Gross domestic product, other aggregates of national accounts and employment, 2023.
The largest revision in this respect was the reclassification of per diem payments for business travel from compensation of employees (decrease) to intermediate consumption (increase) for the whole time series. This reclassification had the effect of reducing value added for non-financial corporations, while leaving their gross operating surplus unchanged due to the reduction in compensation of employees. As a consequence, the compensation of employees received by the household sector decreased, with an impact on their disposable income. Nevertheless, there was no impact on net lending/net borrowing for the household sector, as the decrease in compensation of employees was accompanied by a decrease in final consumption expenditure of households in the same magnitude.
The next group of revision steps resulted from the Excessive Government Deficit (EDP) procedures. For more information on these revisions, see the release Main aggregates of the general government sector (October EDP reporting), 2020–2023.
From this perspective, the most significant impact on the non-financial sector accounts was the 2013 revision of capital transfers, which related to the resolution of banks. It had the effect of significantly reducing the surplus of financial corporations and reducing the government deficit in that year.
The final group of revision steps are other changes to estimation methods and data sources, which usually have a greater impact on aggregates and indicators than annual revisions. The list of revisions in this set is longer, but many of them did not have an impact on the final balancing item, i.e. the surplus or deficit for a particular institutional sector or for the economy as a whole, as the effects of these revisions were neutralised through the sequence of sector accounts. Nevertheless, these revisions do often have an impact on aggregates such as household disposable income. An example is the revision of business travel expenditure mentioned above. A more notable revision with a similar effect was the revision of housing services due to the inclusion of data from the 2021 Census of Population and Housing. The impact of this revision on the estimate of own production and the gross operating surplus of the household sector varied by year (upward/downward). As final consumption expenditure was revised in the same direction at the same time for the same reason, there was consequently no effect on B9. The estimate of own production of fuelwood was also revised downwards for the whole time series due to a change of data source.
The revision of the other current transfers was based both on the revision of the balance of payments data and on some adjustments we made to the distribution of these transfers by institutional sector. These had the effect of reducing B9 for the non-profit institutions serving households (NPISHs) sector while increasing B9 for the household sector. This means that most of the time there was low or no impact on the household sector together with NPISHs (as we often report data for the non-financial sector accounts) for this reason.
A major revision was carried out on property income. The first part of this revision is based on the revised expenditure on interest on bonds in the balance of payments. This revision implied a reduction in interest paid from the government and in interest received from the rest of the world. The second part of the revision of property income is due to a slightly modified calculation or method of distribution of dividends and interest by institutional sector. We now use directly the balance of payments data to calculate or distribute interest and dividends received/paid by each domestic sector from/to the rest of the world. The revision was carried out for the 2009–2022 period and affected B9 for three sectors: financial corporations, non-financial corporations, and households. While the impact of this revision varied by years for non-financial corporations and the household sector, for financial corporations B9 increased for the whole time series. This revision excluded a systematic discrepancy between the non-financial and financial accounts over a longer time series, thereby improving the quality of the sector accounts.
The next major revision is planned for 2029, at which time a new methodological basis will be available to build on or replace the current European Regulation (European System of Accounts 2010).
Tables with the latest data are available in the SiStat Database.
In 2023, the total economy recorded a surplus of EUR 2,798 million or 4.4% of GDP in transactions with the rest of the world, compared with a deficit of EUR 784 million or 1.4% of GDP the year before. The balance of trade with the rest of the world amounted to EUR 4,095 million. While services recorded moderate growth of 5.9% on both the export and import side, trade in goods contracted. The decline in imports of goods (8.5%) was larger than the decline in exports of goods (2.1%), reflecting also more favourable terms of trade with the rest of the world.
The size of gross national income (GNI) determines how much Slovenia pays into the European budget. In 2023, it increased from EUR 56,036 million to EUR 63,352 million, i.e. by 13.1% compared to the previous year.
Non-financial corporations generated a surplus
Non-financial corporations generated a surplus of EUR 1,335 million (2.1% of GDP) in 2023, compared with a deficit of EUR 1,788 million (3.1% of GDP) a year earlier. The gross profit share (the share of gross operating surplus in value added of non-financial corporations) increased by 2.9 percentage points compared to 2022 (from 32.4% to 35.3%). However, this is lower than the EU-27 average (41.2%) and the euro area average (40.6%). Investment activity by non-financial corporations declined slightly. The share of gross fixed capital formation in value added (the investment rate of non-financial corporations) fell by 1.1 percentage point year-on-year (from 22.1% to 21.0%). The investment rate of non-financial corporations also fell for the EU-27 average (22.6%) and for the euro area (22.1%), but the decline was smaller (0.5 of a percentage point).
Financial corporations increased their surplus
Financial corporations generated a surplus of EUR 88 million in 2023, higher than the previous year (2022: EUR 18 million), mainly due to higher value added in monetary intermediation. This is due to the amount of interest margins of banks on the deposit side.
General government reduced its deficit
The general government deficit narrowed from EUR 1,715 million (3.0% of GDP) to EUR 1,640 million (2.6% of GDP) in 2023 compared to a year earlier. Both government revenues and expenditures increased, but the growth in revenues slightly exceed the growth in expenditures.
Household gross saving rate higher than a year earlier
In 2023, the household sector together with the NPISHs recorded a surplus of EUR 3,014 million. Their disposable income increased from EUR 35,617 million to EUR 38,644 million compared to 2022, i.e. by 8.5%. Compensation of employees represents the largest share in the structure of total household income (52.3%) and therefore had the largest impact on the increase in gross disposable income. Social benefits, gross operating surplus and mixed income, as well as higher net property income, also contributed to the growth.
Growth in final consumption expenditure lagged behind growth in household disposable income, implying that the share of gross saving in disposable income increased. The gross saving rate was 14.3% in 2023, about 1 percentage point higher than a year earlier. Higher household saving rates were also recorded for the EU-27 average (12.9%) and the euro area (13.7%) in 2023, where the rates are typically lower than in Slovenia.
Benchmark revision of national accounts from 1995 on
National accounts data are subject to benchmark revision every five years. In addition to the regular annual revisions, which include the usual data updates and cover the last four years, at the European level Member States undertake more extensive revisions in the same year, for a longer time series of national accounts data, in order to ensure comparability of national accounts data over time and space. The last such revision was carried out in 2019.
Benchmark revisions are based on changes in estimation methods and changes in data sources that go beyond the annual regular revisions. Their impact is varied, reflected in changes in the level of aggregates or balancing items, both for the economy as a whole and for individual institutional sectors. As a consequence, the revisions are reflected in changes in the values of indicators of the non-financial sector accounts, such as the household saving rate, the investment rate and the profit rate of non-financial corporations. Some revisions have only a limited impact and do not lead to a change in aggregates.
Benchmark revisions often involve revision steps to address and lift formal reservations of the European Commission on whether a country’s gross national income data are appropriate for determining EU’s own resources. For more information on these revisions, see the release Gross domestic product, other aggregates of national accounts and employment, 2023.
The largest revision in this respect was the reclassification of per diem payments for business travel from compensation of employees (decrease) to intermediate consumption (increase) for the whole time series. This reclassification had the effect of reducing value added for non-financial corporations, while leaving their gross operating surplus unchanged due to the reduction in compensation of employees. As a consequence, the compensation of employees received by the household sector decreased, with an impact on their disposable income. Nevertheless, there was no impact on net lending/net borrowing for the household sector, as the decrease in compensation of employees was accompanied by a decrease in final consumption expenditure of households in the same magnitude.
The next group of revision steps resulted from the Excessive Government Deficit (EDP) procedures. For more information on these revisions, see the release Main aggregates of the general government sector (October EDP reporting), 2020–2023.
From this perspective, the most significant impact on the non-financial sector accounts was the 2013 revision of capital transfers, which related to the resolution of banks. It had the effect of significantly reducing the surplus of financial corporations and reducing the government deficit in that year.
The final group of revision steps are other changes to estimation methods and data sources, which usually have a greater impact on aggregates and indicators than annual revisions. The list of revisions in this set is longer, but many of them did not have an impact on the final balancing item, i.e. the surplus or deficit for a particular institutional sector or for the economy as a whole, as the effects of these revisions were neutralised through the sequence of sector accounts. Nevertheless, these revisions do often have an impact on aggregates such as household disposable income. An example is the revision of business travel expenditure mentioned above. A more notable revision with a similar effect was the revision of housing services due to the inclusion of data from the 2021 Census of Population and Housing. The impact of this revision on the estimate of own production and the gross operating surplus of the household sector varied by year (upward/downward). As final consumption expenditure was revised in the same direction at the same time for the same reason, there was consequently no effect on B9. The estimate of own production of fuelwood was also revised downwards for the whole time series due to a change of data source.
The revision of the other current transfers was based both on the revision of the balance of payments data and on some adjustments we made to the distribution of these transfers by institutional sector. These had the effect of reducing B9 for the non-profit institutions serving households (NPISHs) sector while increasing B9 for the household sector. This means that most of the time there was low or no impact on the household sector together with NPISHs (as we often report data for the non-financial sector accounts) for this reason.
A major revision was carried out on property income. The first part of this revision is based on the revised expenditure on interest on bonds in the balance of payments. This revision implied a reduction in interest paid from the government and in interest received from the rest of the world. The second part of the revision of property income is due to a slightly modified calculation or method of distribution of dividends and interest by institutional sector. We now use directly the balance of payments data to calculate or distribute interest and dividends received/paid by each domestic sector from/to the rest of the world. The revision was carried out for the 2009–2022 period and affected B9 for three sectors: financial corporations, non-financial corporations, and households. While the impact of this revision varied by years for non-financial corporations and the household sector, for financial corporations B9 increased for the whole time series. This revision excluded a systematic discrepancy between the non-financial and financial accounts over a longer time series, thereby improving the quality of the sector accounts.
The next major revision is planned for 2029, at which time a new methodological basis will be available to build on or replace the current European Regulation (European System of Accounts 2010).
Tables with the latest data are available in the SiStat Database.
Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) by institutional sector, Slovenia, current prices
Gross investment rate of non-financial corporations, Slovenia, EU-27, euro area
Gross household saving rate, Slovenia, EU-27, euro area
METHODOLOGICAL NOTE
This release presents data for the household sector together with the sector of non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH). For the sake of comparability with the EU-27 indicator and the euro area indicator, we take into account households together with the NPISH when calculating the indicator of the gross household saving rate. The saving rates for the EU-27 and the euro area are only available for both sectors together. The value of NPISH data has a small, negligible impact on the total value with households.
Additional explanations are available in the methodological explanations.
Additional explanations are available in the methodological explanations.
When making use of the data and information of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, always add: "Source: SURS". More: Copyright.
.jpg)
.jpg)