The Saudi Ministry of Finance announced on Sunday the state’s general budget for the first quarter of 2023, with revenues amounting to 281 billion riyals ($75 billion).
The results highlighted a growth in revenues from non-oil activities, which reached 102.3 billion riyals ($27.2 billion), an increase of 9 percent from the first quarter of 2022.
The volume of expenditures amounted to 283.8 billion riyals ($75.6 billion), with the actual performance of the budget recording a deficit of 2.9 billion riyals ($776 million).
Oil revenues fell by 3 percent to 179 billion riyals in the first three months of the year on lower crude prices. Tax revenues on income, profits and capital gains increased to 7.1 billion riyals ($1.9 billion), with a growth of 75 percent compared to the first quarter of 2022.
Workers’ compensation expenses amounted to about 134 billion riyals ($35.7 billion) as the largest expenditure in the first quarter.
The education sector expenses accounted for 45.5 billion riyals ($12.1 billion), an increase of 14 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. The expenditures of the military sector reached 42.6 billion riyals ($11.3 billion), registering an increase of 38 percent from the first quarter of 2022, while health and social development recorded expenditures exceeding 37.7 billion riyals (10 billion dollars), with an increase of 31 percent.
Total revenue during the period grew by 1 per cent annually to 280.9 billion riyals as non-oil revenue rose by 9 percent, year on year, to 102.3 billion riyals, the Ministry of Finance said.
“At a time when oil revenues decreased slightly, the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 program of supporting the non-oil sector and diversifying sources of income succeeded in playing a prominent role in raising non-oil revenues in the first quarter,” the ministry stated.
On the other hand, the state’s expansionary fiscal policy continued within its economic reform program, as expenditures increased by 29 percent, recording 283.9 billion riyals ($75 billion) in the first quarter, compared to 220.5 billion riyals ($58.8 billion) in the same period last year.
The Ministry of Finance stated that capital spending increased by about 75 percent, recording 26 billion riyals ($6.9 billion), compared to 14.8 billion riyals ($3.9 billion) in the first quarter of 2022.
According to the results of the budget, operating expenses increased by 25 percent, driven by the increase in spending on goods and services, which rose by 70 percent, to reach 54.1 billion riyals ($14.4 billion).
Public debt shrank to 962 billion riyals at the end of the first quarter from 990 billion riyals at the start of the year.
