Budget deficit widens in Uzbekistan, surpassing initial projections

According to the data provided by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in January of the current year, state budget revenues were 16 trillion 159.9 billion UZS, while expenditures amounted to 21 trillion 926.7 billion UZS. The discrepancy between budget revenues and expenditures stood at 5 trillion 766.8 billion UZS.

In February, state budget revenues were recorded at 16 trillion 908.9 billion UZS, and expenditures were at 24 trillion 137.1 billion UZS. This resulted in a negative difference of 7 trillion 228.1 billion UZS.

In aggregate, the state budget deficit for the past two months totaled 12 trillion 994.8 billion UZS.

According to the law on the state budget for 2024, budget revenues are forecast to be 270.4 trillion UZS, and expenditures are projected at 280.7 trillion UZS, resulting in a deficit of 10.3 trillion UZS for the current year. The consolidated budget deficit is capped at 52.6 trillion UZS, which is limited to 4 percent of GDP.

In December, with just 15 days left in the year, the law on the state budget was amended, increasing the cap on the consolidated budget deficit from 3 percent to 5.5 percent of GDP, and the annual external debt limit was raised from $4.5 billion to $5.5 billion.