Qatar’s 2024 budget prioritizes investments in education and health sectors
Qatar’s total revenues expected in the general budget for the 2024 fiscal year will be QAR202bn, a decrease of 11.4% compared to the previous year, said the country’s Minister of Finance HE Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari on Wednesday.
The 2024 General Budget, issued by HH Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, sees a decrease in revenues due to the adoption of oil’s average price in 2024 to be $60 per barrel instead of $65 per barrel in 2023.
HH the Amir issues Law No. (17) of 2023 approving the State's general budget for the fiscal year 2024.#QNA #Qatarhttps://t.co/2DvumxhiN2 pic.twitter.com/Wih48N7sNo
— Qatar News Agency (@QNAEnglish) December 20, 2023
The new price is based on international institutions’ estimates for oil prices in 2024 and conservative estimates for oil and gas revenues.
Al Kuwari, who addressed a Press conference on Wednesday, said that the estimated total oil and gas revenues for 2024 would be QAR159bn, 14.5% less than 2023’s QAR186bn revenue.
He added that estimated non-oil revenues for 2024 would amount to QAR43bn, up by 2.4% from the previous year.
Meanwhile, expenditures in the 2024 budget will see a 1% increase to reach QAR200.9bn, due to a QAR1.5bn rise in allocations for salaries and wages (total of QAR64bn, up by 2.4%).
Allocations for current expenditures and secondary capital expenditures increased by 6.4% and 27.5% respectively, compared to 2023.
Major capital expenditures decreased by nearly 8.3%, thanks to the completion of several vital economic and infrastructure projects.
The Minister said the budget would prioritize education, health, environment, and infrastructure and that it was a good opportunity for citizens and investors in the private sector.
Allocations for the health and education sectors constitute 20% of the total budget. Al Kuwari elaborated on it.
“The 2024 general budget continues to focus on achieving the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030 related to human capital development by focusing on the health and education sectors. They’re the most important elements in investment in people,” he said.
“We’ve set goals to diversify the local economy and enhance its competitiveness. Allocations for communications and information technology sector has also been doubled from last year,” he added.
He said Qatar intended to pay about QAR7.3bn of public debt dues in 2024, making the cash deficit for 2024 (at $60 per barrel price) at around QAR6.2bn. He said it could be covered by budget surplus from 2023 in addition to using domestic and external debt instruments as needed.
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