Austria's budget deficit for 2012 has proven significantly lower than the government expected, Statistics Austria revealed Thursday.

Standing at 2.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or 7.7 billion euros (9.87 billion US dollars), the deficit ended up below the Finance Ministry's Autumn forecast of 3.1 percent of the GDP and also puts it below the EUSability and Growth Pact (SGP) target of 3 percent.

The main reason for the outcome is a better than expected was attributed to states and local councils, while the main burden was the banking bailout package, making up 0.9 of the 2.5 percent total.

The nation's leading politicians praised the outcome, Chancellor Werner Faymann saying the surprisingly low figure showed Austria was on the right track, citing SGP measures as having fulfilled their intended effect.

Finance Minister Maria Fekter thanked states and local councils for their "impressive budget discipline," and also the Austrian people.

The news was not all positive, however, with Austrian sovereign debt climbing to a new high of 227.4 billion euros or 73.4 percent of GDP, well over the SGP target of 60 percent, though it too was below the previous prognosis, which was 74.6 percent.