The IMF's forecasts for Slovenia have been pessimistic in comparison to both national institutions and international organisations, so the latest forecast could be a sign that the Slovenian economy has indeed started recovering.

Slovenia's GDP contracted last year by 1.1%, despite a 2.1% rise in the last quarter of 2013 compared to the same period the year before, according to the Slovenian Statistics Office.

The economic growth forecast for 2014 was also upgraded in March by the government think-tank IMAD, which now expects 0.5% GDP growth after projecting last autumn that the national economy will shrink by 0.8%.

The IMF's World Economic Outlook report for 2014 does not provide detailed projections for Slovenia, while stating that the biggest uncertainties faced by the country are in the financial sector and restructuring of companies.

The report does include forecasts for inflation, which is expected to stand at 1.2% in 2014, and for unemployment, with the projected rate standing at 10.4%, up 0.3 percentage points compared to 2013.