Qatar has approved next year’s budget, with an increase in spending by 5% over the current year’s 2021 budget.
The Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, also announced the approval of the state’s general budget law for the fiscal year 2022, with a total expenditure of 204.3 billion riyals ($56.12 billion).
Sheikh Tamim issued Law No. 23 of 2021 approving the state’s general budget for the 2022 fiscal year.
In turn, the Qatari Finance Minister, Ali bin Ahmed al-Kuwari, confirmed that the total revenue estimates in the 2022 fiscal year budget amount to 196.0 billion Qatari riyals ($53.85 billion), which represents an increase of 22.4% compared to the 2021 budget estimates.
Al-Kuwari indicated that the general budget for 2022 was based on an average oil price of $55 a barrel because of the remarkable recovery in global energy prices.
The total planned expenditures in the new budget rose by 4.9% from last year, to reach 204.3 billion Qatari riyals ($56,110 billion) during 2022, he explained.
He attributed this to the temporary increase in operating expenses related to the activities of hosting the World Cup, which include security and operating costs for all events related to the Qatar World Cup 2022.
The expected deficit is estimated at 8.3 billion riyals ($2.28 billion), stressing that the ministry will work to cover it through available cash balances, and issue local and foreign debt instruments if the need arises, he said.
An amount of 74.0 billion riyals ($20.3 billion) has been allocated for major projects out of the total expenditures of the general budget for 2022, as the state continues to complete public projects in accordance with previously prepared plans and strategies.
Service development
Infrastructure projects, the development of citizens’ lands, and public services development projects such as health and education enjoy spending priority, according to the Qatari Minister of Finance.
He indicated that the state estimated allocations to the education sector at about 17.8 billion riyals ($4.89 billion), which represents 8.7% of total expenditures, part of which was allocated to the expansion and development of schools and educational institutions.
He also mentioned that an amount of 20 billion riyals ($5.49 billion) has been allocated to the health sector. This represents 9.8% of the total expenditure, which includes more development projects and programs to improve the healthcare services provided.
Qatar’s budget shows recovery from the repercussions of the pandemic, and increased spending on major projects in preparation for the organization of the World Cup in 2022.
