Openai/691c5b4b-e984-8009-a9ae-1118077b2b31

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User: Can you pull data about Slovak Government deficit for the last 15 years?

Can you pull data about Slovak Government deficit for the last 15 years? I'd like to see deficit % of GDP for each fiscal year.

Assistant: Quick clarifier before I pull the series: do you want calendar years 2010, 2011 … 2024 or Slovakia’s fiscal years if di…

Quick clarifier before I pull the series: do you want calendar years (2010, 2011 … 2024) or Slovakia’s fiscal years (if different from calendar)?

gpt-5-1

User: Use Slovakia's fiscal years.

Use Slovakia's fiscal years.

Assistant: Good question.

Good question. It’s a bit tricky to find a neatly tabulated public-government deficit as % of GDP for all 15 fiscal years for Slovakia, but I pulled together the best available data and sources. (Note: I use general government deficit / net borrowing from Eurostat / Slovak statistical office — since “government deficit” in public finances normally means net borrowing.)

Here’s a table of Slovakia’s general government deficit (% of GDP) for the last ~15 years, plus notes on sources. Some years are rough / preliminary or revised.

| | | | --- | --- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

Notes / caveats:

• The 2024 figure was updated in October 2025: the Statistical Office of the SR reports the deficit for 2024 as 5.50% of GDP. Slovak Statistics
• The 2023 “4.9%” figure is cited in a Brussels report but might differ slightly depending on revision. Data Consilium
• Data come from a mix of Slovak Statistical Office releases and Eurostat’s GOV_10DD_EDPT1 dataset. European Commission
• Fiscal year here is being treated as calendar year because the Eurostat data is on an annual basis. If Slovakia’s “fiscal year” differs, the comparable data might be slightly shifted.

If you like, I can pull revised (final) deficit-to-GDP data (not just preliminary estimates) and put them in a chart. Do you want me to do that?

User: Can you change the table into a graph?

Can you change the table into a graph?

Assistant: Here’s your graph!

Here’s your graph! You can download the generated image here:

➡️ Download slovakia_deficit_graph.png

If you’d like the graph styled differently, exported to PDF/Excel, or extended with debt/GDP or revenues, just let me know.

User: Also, why is the deficit listed as % of GDP?

Also, why is the deficit listed as % of GDP? Isn't it just playing with numbers as once a country has a record GDP year, it automatically lowers the percentage of any deficit?

Assistant: Great question — and you’re right to be skeptical.

Great question — and you’re right to be skeptical. Using deficit as a percentage of GDP does change the interpretation, especially when GDP jumps. But there are reasons economists prefer it, and also real limitations you’ve noticed.

###

€10 billion of deficit means something very different in:

• a €50 billion economy (huge problem), vs.
• a €500 billion economy (moderate), vs.
• a €5 trillion economy (tiny).

So “% of GDP” standardizes across:

• different countries
• different years
• different inflation environments

This is why EU rules use it (e.g., Maastricht 3% deficit limit).

Debt sustainability depends on whether the economy can generate tax revenue to service the debt.

Bigger GDP → more tax capacity.

So expressing deficit relative to GDP approximates a country’s ability to absorb debt.

###

Example:

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The government didn’t improve at all, but the headline percentage looks better.

This is why:

• strong inflation
• statistical rebasing
• GDP methodology updates
• exchange rate changes

…can artificially improve deficit/GDP.

A country may boast:

…but in reality:

• spending didn’t change
• borrowing didn’t change
• GDP just grew faster (possibly due to inflation)

So yes: percent-of-GDP framing softens the optics.

Economists also look at:

Adjusts for:

• business cycle
• inflation
• one-off events

This removes the “GDP grows → deficit looks better” distortion.

Using deficit as % of GDP:

Pros

• comparable across countries and years
• aligns with debt sustainability
• standard macroeconomic metric

Cons

• GDP jumps can artificially improve numbers
• hides nominal debt growth
• can be politically exploited

So your intuition is spot-on: GDP growth can make deficits look healthier even when fiscal policy hasn’t improved.

If you want, I can plot:

📊 Deficit in billions (nominal euro) 📊 Deficit as % of revenue 📊 Structural deficit (Eurostat) 📊 Deficit and GDP growth together

Just tell me what kind of comparison you’d like.

User: Can you pull data on Slovak Government debt as a percentage of country's GDP?

Can you pull data on Slovak Government debt as a percentage of country's GDP?

Assistant: Good question.

Good question. Here’s a summary of Slovakia’s general government gross debt as a % of GDP, with recent data and sources. (Note: I don’t always find a clean 15-year fiscal-year series, but I’ll pull what’s available.)

| | | |

| --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

- The Ministry of Finance of Slovakia provides a general government debt page; they use the Maastricht (EDP) methodology. mfsr.sk

• IMF data: According to the IMF profile for Slovakia, general government gross debt is ~ 59.6% of GDP. IMF
• CEIC Data has quarterly data for Slovakia’s government debt as a % of GDP (going back to 2000). CEIC Data
• Eurostat also publishes “general government gross debt (EDP concept), annual / quarterly” data. European Commission

- Just like with deficits, debt-to-GDP is a ratio, so changes in GDP will affect the percentage even if the nominal debt doesn’t move as much.

• The “gross debt” here is general government gross debt, which is a standard metric under EU / Maastricht-EDP rules.
• There may be revisions: the Statistical Office revised its 2024 data in October 2025, raising the debt/GDP ratio. Slovak Statistics

If you like, I can pull debt-to-GDP data for every fiscal year from 2010 to 2024 and plot a graph. Do you want me to do that?

User: Please, make a grab bar plot of debt-to-GDP for each fiscal year in the last 20 years.

Please, make a grab (bar plot) of debt-to-GDP for each fiscal year in the last 20 years.

Assistant: Good request.

Good request. Unfortunately, I don’t find a clean, publicly available annual series for Slovakia’s general government gross debt (% of GDP) going back exactly 20 fiscal years in a readily downloadable table. But I can approximate a bar-plot from the data that is available and outline the limitations. Here’s how I pulled the data + what the chart would look like, and then a sketch of the bar plot.

1. YCharts provides historical annual values (end of year) for Slovakia’s general government debt as % of GDP. YCharts - E.g., 2005: ~34.7%, 2010: ~40.7%, 2021: ~60.2%, etc. YCharts

1. Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic: updated 2024 data reports 59.28% of GDP for debt. Slovak Statistics
2. Annual Progress Report (Ministry of Finance): gives some debt-to-GDP data. mfsr.sk
3. Eurostat: has a database of “General government gross debt (EDP concept), consolidated” which is the methodological basis. European Commission

Here’s a reconstructed approximate series (based mostly on YCharts + a few official datapoints) for debt-to-GDP. Use this for a bar chart, but note it's approximate:

| | | | --- | --- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

If you plotted these in a bar chart:

• X-axis: Years (2005 to 2024)
• Y-axis: Debt as % of GDP
• Bars would start low around ~ 35% in mid-2000s, dip slightly, then climb strongly after 2010, peaking around 2021 (~60%), then slightly drop and rise again by 2024 (~59%).

The trend shows significant buildup of public debt over the last 10-15 years, especially post-2010.

- The data from YCharts is based on “outlook” or published historical series — may not exactly match final revised EDP data from Eurostat or national accounts.

• There may be quarter-to-quarter variation not captured by annual data.
• The 2024 number is based on a preliminary or revised figure from the Slovak Statistical Office. Slovak Statistics
• Methodology matters: «gross debt» means consolidated government debt under Maastricht / EDP definitions.

If you like, I can generate a high-precision chart (with downloadable PNG/SVG) using official Eurostat annual data (if I pull the full dataset). Do you want me to do that?

User: Do it again and this time, use this excel file.

Do it again and this time, use this excel file.

Assistant: Your graph is ready!

Your graph is ready!

📊 Slovakia Debt-to-GDP Ratio (Last 20 Fiscal Years) has been generated from your Excel file.

📥 Download the bar chart here: ➡️ slovakia_debt_to_gdp_20years.png

If you'd like:

• a line chart version
• smoothing or trendlines
• comparison with deficit
• annotations for crisis years
• or the full 1993–2024 series

— just let me know!

User: Also, what is the % of GDP deficit for 2025 and projected for 2026?

Also, what is the % of GDP deficit for 2025 and projected for 2026?

Assistant: Here are the most recent projections for the government deficit of Slovakia as a percentage of GDP:

Here are the most recent projections for the government deficit of Slovakia as a percentage of GDP:

• For 2025 the deficit is projected at ≈ 4.9% of GDP. rrz.sk
• For 2026 the government is targeting a deficit of ≈ 4.1% of GDP under the budget approved by parliament. newsnow.tasr.sk

If you’d like, I can check multiple forecasts (IMF, OECD, EU) and show a range of projections.

User: what value would you get if wanted to get the change in 2026 compared to 2025?

what value would you get if wanted to get the change in 2026 compared to 2025? In percentage

Assistant: Using the values:

Using the values:

• 2025 deficit: 4.9% of GDP
• 2026 deficit: 4.1% of GDP

4.1−4.94.9×100=−0.84.9×100≈−16.33%\frac{4.1 - 4.9}{4.9} \times 100

= \frac{-0.8}{4.9} \times 100 \approx -16.33\%4.94.1−4.9​×100=4.9−0.8​×100≈−16.33%

User: Ok, let's say that the government is playing with the data interpretation to look good and claims that the chnage of de…

Ok, let's say that the government is playing with the data interpretation to look good and claims that the chnage of deficit in 2026 compared to 2025 is 0.9. What would be the deficit % value for 2025 and 2026 to reach this change of 0.9? I assume that 0.9 is 0.

Assistant: I want to make sure I understand the scenario correctly, because “change 0.9” could mean a few different things, and …

I want to make sure I understand the scenario correctly, because “change = 0.9” could mean a few different things, and your note “I assume that 0.9 is 0” is ambiguous.

Here are the three possible interpretations, and I need you to confirm which one you mean:

Example:

Deficit 2025 = 5.0% Deficit 2026 = 4.1% Change = 5.0 − 4.1 = 0.9 percentage points

👉 In this case, many governments incorrectly phrase this as “a 0.9% improvement” even though it’s actually 0.9 percentage points.

Is this what you mean?

This would mean:

2026−20252025=−0.009\frac{\text{2026} - \text{2025}}{\text{2025}} = -0.00920252026−2025​=−0.009 i.e., a 0.9% improvement, which is extremely small.

Then:

2026=0.991×2025\text{2026} = 0.991 \times \text{2025}2026=0.991×2025 Example: If 2025 deficit = 5.0%, 2026 deficit = 5.0 × 0.991 = 4.955%.

👉 This would be the kind of “statistical trick” that hides the fact that there is barely any improvement.

Is this what you mean?

If the government is falsely treating 0.9 as equivalent to 0 (like rounding down), then you might be asking:

For example:

• Real change = −0.9%
• Government rounds → 0%
• 2025 = X
• 2026 = X × 0.991

But this depends on your rounding logic.

Which interpretation are you referring to?

A) 0.9 percentage points B) 0.9% relative percentage change C) Some kind of rounding/manipulation where “0.9 is assumed to be 0” D) Something else?

Tell me A/B/C, and I’ll compute the exact deficit values for both years accordingly.

User: Sorry, do it again under the assumption that 0.9 refers to 0.9%

Sorry, do it again under the assumption that 0.9 refers to 0.9%

Assistant: Got it — 0.9% means a 0.9% relative improvement, not 0.9 percentage points.

Got it — 0.9% means a 0.9% relative improvement, not 0.9 percentage points.

So the government is claiming that:

Deficit2026−Deficit2025Deficit2025=−0.009\frac{\text{Deficit}_{2026}-\text{Deficit}_{2025}}{\text{Deficit}_{2025}} = -0.009Deficit2025​Deficit2026​−Deficit2025​​=−0.009 This means:

Deficit2026=0.991×Deficit2025\text{Deficit}_{2026} = 0.991 \times \text{Deficit}_{2025}Deficit2026​=0.991×Deficit2025​

Deficit2026=4.9×0.991=4.8559%\text{Deficit}_{2026} = 4.9 \times 0.991 = 4.8559\%Deficit2026​=4.9×0.991=4.8559%

###

This corresponds to a 0.9% improvement, which is extremely small.

Then:

D26=0.991 D25D_{26} = 0.991 \, D_{25}D26​=0.991D25​ Examples:

| | | | | --- | --- | --- | | | | | | | | | | | | |

The ratio is always:

D26D25=0.991\frac{D_{26}}{D_{25}} = 0.991D25​D26​​=0.991

If you want, I can now:

📊 add this to your charts 📈 show how different interpretations (0.9%, 0.9 p.p., etc.) change the narrative 💡 show how governments commonly misuse % vs. p.p. to manipulate perception

Just tell me!

User: What was the governmental spending in 2025 and projected spending in 2026 that corresponds to the percentages above?

What was the governmental spending in 2025 and projected spending in 2026 that corresponds to the percentages above?

Assistant: Good question.

Good question. To estimate government spending in 2025 and 2026 that corresponds to the deficit percentages (and your scenario), we’ll need:

1. Projected GDP for those years (or at least a ratio)
2. The spending-to-GDP percentages for those years

Here’s how I piece together an estimate, and the result. (Then I’ll comment on the uncertainty.)

🔎 Data from Slovak Budget / Forecast

• The 2026 state budget projects total public-administration expenditure of €67.9 billion, which is 47.1% of GDP. enrsi.stvr.sk
• For 2025, according to the 2025 state budget / general government budget: total expenditure is €66.5 billion, which is 47.5% of GDP. enrsi.stvr.sk
• The European Commission economic forecast estimates a 4.9% deficit in 2025 and 5.1% in 2026. Economy and Finance

🔢 Estimate of Government Spending (Nominal)

To convert those percentages into actual euro values:

1. Estimate GDP for each year - We know spending and spending as % of GDP, so: GDP2025≈66.5 billion €0.475=140.0 billion € (approx.) \text{GDP}_{2025} \approx \frac{66.5\,\text{billion €}}{0.475} = 140.0\,\text{billion € (approx.)}GDP2025​≈0.47566.5billion €​=140.0billion € (approx.) - For 2026: GDP2026≈67.9 billion €0.471=144.2 billion € (approx.) \text{GDP}_{2026} \approx \frac{67.9\,\text{billion €}}{0.471} = 144.2\,\text{billion € (approx.)}GDP2026​≈0.47167.9billion €​=144.2billion € (approx.)
2. Using your “0.9% change” scenario for deficit, you meant: - 2025 deficit = 4.9% of GDP (you used that as base) - 2026 deficit = 4.856% of GDP (because a 0.9% relative drop → -0.009) Then deficit amounts in euros are: - 2025 deficit = 0.049 × 140.0 = € 6.86 billion - 2026 deficit = 0.04856 × 144.2 = € 7.00 billion
3. Government spending (i.e. total expenditures) in euros then are: - In 2025: € 66.5 billion (from the budget) - In 2026: € 67.9 billion (from the budget)

✅ Summary

• 2025 spending: ~ €66.5 billion (47.5% of GDP)
• 2026 spending: ~ €67.9 billion (47.1% of GDP)
• Under your “0.9% relative improvement in deficit” scenario: - Deficit in € for 2025 ≈ €6.86 billion - Deficit in € for 2026 ≈ €7.00 billion

⚠️ Important Caveats / Uncertainties

• These are projections / estimates based on currently published budgets and forecasts — real outcomes could differ.
• The calculation of GDP from spending ratios assumes the budgeted spending exactly matches the percent-of-GDP forecasts. If actual GDP ends up higher/lower, the euro figures change.
• Your “0.9% change” is relative, not percentage-point, which makes the difference in euros quite small but could still misleadingly be spun politically.
• There could also be contingency buffers or reserves in the budget that are not fully “spent,” which would change effective spending.

If you like, I can run a sensitivity analysis: show how different assumptions (GDP growth, 0.9% vs 0.9 pp, etc.) change the spending / deficit euro figures and highlight where the government could be “playing” with optics. Do you want me to do that?

User: Can you create a box plot of governmental spending in nominal value for each fiscal year in the last 20 years?

Can you create a box plot of governmental spending in nominal value for each fiscal year in the last 20 years?

Assistant: I can generate the box plot as soon as I have the spending data, but the Excel file you uploaded contains only governme…

I can generate the box plot as soon as I have the spending data, but the Excel file you uploaded contains only government debt data, not government spending or expenditure.

To create the plot, I need nominal government spending for each fiscal year, for the last 20 years. Right now, I do not have a source for those values in your file.

✅ Can you provide one of the following?

1. An Excel file that contains yearly government spending, or
2. A column name / sheet in your existing file where spending is located (if I missed it), or
3. A text/table listing spending for 20 years, and I’ll plot it.

Just tell me which source you'd like to use, and I’ll generate the box plot.

User: Oh, in that case, do the nominal value of debt for each fiscal year in the last 20 years.

Oh, in that case, do the nominal value of debt for each fiscal year in the last 20 years.

Assistant: Your box plot of Slovakia’s nominal government debt over the last 20 fiscal years has been generated successfully.

Your box plot of Slovakia’s nominal government debt over the last 20 fiscal years has been generated successfully.

📁 Download the image here: slovakia_nominal_debt_boxplot_20years.png

If you'd like, I can also generate:

• A line chart of the same data
• A bar chart
• A combined debt + GDP chart
• A statistical summary table
• Or convert the dataset into a clean CSV for you

Just let me know!

User: Damn, not box polot, but bar plot.

Damn, not box polot, but bar plot.

Assistant: Your bar plot of Slovakia’s nominal government debt for the last 20 fiscal years is ready.

Your bar plot of Slovakia’s nominal government debt for the last 20 fiscal years is ready.

📁 Download the image here: 👉 slovakia_nominal_debt_barplot_20years.png

If you’d like, I can also produce:

• a line plot
• a year-over-year change chart
• a debt-to-GDP comparison
• a forecast model
• or convert this to a CSV/Excel summary

Just tell me!