"Lithuania's debt level at the end of 2012 is likely to amount to 40.3 percent of GDP. I am glad to say that the debt growth dynamics should decelerate markedly in 2012. If Lithuania continues to maintain its fiscal discipline, we could expect a decline in the nominal debt level in the coming years," Rokas Bancevičius said in a comment.
An analysis of the Finance Ministry's plans shows that the general government debt should rise to 45.32 billion litas (EUR 13.14 b) in 2012, the analyst said.
"The nominal debt growth rate will still be higher than the nominal GDP growth rate," he added.
The country's nominal gross general government debt stood at around 41.97 billion litas, or 39.6 percent of GDP, at the end of last year.
A country must keep its public debt at no more than 60 percent of GDP to meet the Maastricht debt criterion.