Bosnia’s public debt had increased by BAM 447.78 million (around EUR 220 million) reaching BAM 11.8 billion (some EUR 6 billion). Of that number, the foreign debt reached BAM 8.3 billion (around EUR 4 billion) or 70 percent of the total debt, the Council of Ministers said.

The 3.94 percent debt growth compared to the end of 2017 means that the foreign debt had increased by BAM 475 million (some EUR 235 million) while the domestic debt decreased by BAM 27.22 million (around EUR 13 million), or 0.78 percent.

According to the Finance and Treasury Ministry's information, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) entity made 50.2 percent of the total country’s debt, while the Republika Srpska (RS) entity made  48.7 percent of it. The District of Brcko is responsible for 0.38 percent of the debt.

The public debt's share in Bosnia’s gross domestic product (GDP) was 34.92 percent. Servicing of the debt in the first half of this year amounted to some BAM 450 million (some EUR 220 million), of which BAM 388.95 million (some EUR 200 million) refers to the principal, and BAM 62.17 million (around EUR 30 million) was the interest.

According to the macroeconomic indicators, the economic growth registered in the first quarters of 2018 continued in the second quarter as did the industrial production trend which rose by more than 3 percent.

The number of employees in the country rose by 2 percent, pointing to Bosnia's growing economic activity.

(EUR 1 = BAM 1.95)