OECD appreciated the Slovak economy for growing twice as fast as EU average, but the country still has challenges ahead to deal with, including in health care and in tackling regional disparities, announced OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria at the end of his visit to that country on Saturday, Xinhua reported. “Looking at Slovakia’s GDP growth, it’s at 3.6% annually. This is roughly twice as much as the EU average and 1.5-times the US growth pace. The unemployment rate, 10.6%, is at the seven-year low, while the fiscal situation is progressing well and the public deficit is decreasing toward balanced accounts in 2018,” said Gurria. However, there’re still challenges for the country in health care and education, in reducing long-term unemployment and dealing with regional disparities. The Slovak government has asked for assistance of OECD experts in drawing up action plans to be carried out in underdeveloped districts, mainly in the eastern Slovakia.
