Minister of Finance: QR 202 billion total revenues for 2024 general budget, expenditures rise by 1%

HE Minister of Finance Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari announced that the total revenues expected in the general budget of the State of Qatar for the fiscal year 2024, issued by HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani earlier Wednesday, amounts to QR 202.0 billion, a 11.4% decrease compared to the 2023 budget total revenues estimates.
In a statement on Wednesday, HE the Minister of Finance attributed the decrease in revenues basically to the adoption of an average oil price of $60 per barrel for 2024 instead of $65 per barrel in 2023, based on the international institutions estimates for oil prices in 2024, and the conservative estimates for oil and gas revenues.
HE the Minister of Finance explained that estimates of total oil and gas revenues for 2024 amount to QR 159.0 billion, compared to QR 186.0 billion in 2023, a 14.5% decrease; indicating that the estimates of non-oil revenues for 2024 amounts to QR 43.0 billion, an increase of approximately 2.4% compared to the budget for the fiscal year 2023.
His Excellency added that said that expenditures in the fiscal year 2024 budget sees an increase by 1.0% from 2023 to reach QR 200.9 billion, due to a rise in the allocations for salaries and wages increased in the 2024 budget by QR 1.5 billion, a 2.4% increase from 2023 to reach QR 64 billion.
Allocations for both current expenditures and secondary capital expenditures also increased by 6.4% and 27.5% respectively, compared to 2023. Major capital expenditures budget decreased by nearly 8.3% compared to the 2023 budget given the completion of many vital economic projects and projects related to the infrastructure plan.
HE the Minister of Finance affirmed that the general budget continues to focus on achieving the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030 related to the development of human capital by focusing on the health and education sectors - allocations for the two sectors constitute 20% of the total budget - in addition to the goals related to diversifying the local economy and enhancing its competitiveness - allocations for the communications and information technology sector have been doubled compared to 2023.
HE Minister of Finance Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari noted the State's commitment to pay the equivalent of approximately QR 7.3 billion of public debt dues in 2024, which makes the cash deficit for 2024 at the above-mentioned oil price ($60 per barrel) estimated at about QR 6.2 billion. This can be covered from the surplus of the year 2023 in addition to using domestic and external debt instruments as needed.