KIEV, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine's annual budget deficit grew by about 33 percent last year, reaching 1.77 trillion hryvnias (about 42 billion U.S. dollars), the government-run Ukrinform news agency reported on Tuesday, citing data from the central bank.
Despite the increase, the deficit was lower than the projected budget gap of 1.85 trillion hryvnias (about 43.8 billion U.S. dollars), according to the report by the National Bank of Ukraine.
The document noted that a record influx of foreign aid in December allowed Ukraine to cover state budget expenditures and build a liquidity reserve for early 2025.
Defense and security, along with social programs were the primary areas of Ukraine's budget spending in 2024.
Last year, Ukraine received 41.7 billion U.S. dollars in foreign budget support.
