Khaberni - The Jordan Economic Forum issued a policy paper titled "Public Budget Law Project for the Fiscal Year 2026: A Review of Financial Trends and Sustainability Strategies", which included a wide range of recommendations aimed at enhancing the efficiency of public financial management and improving sustainability in spending and revenue paths.
According to the statement issued by the Forum, the public budget is one of the most important tools that governments rely on to guide the economy and achieve financial stability. It translates national priorities into figures and policies, determines resource allocation, and directly affects economic growth, public service levels, efficiency in public money management, and the state's ability to handle shocks.
The Forum clarified that the 2026 budget comes in a national context in which Jordan is striving to strike a balance between financial stability requirements and economic growth within the framework of the economic modernization vision and the public sector modernization roadmap. The budget project reflects a clear trend towards self-reliance by increasing local revenues to cover current expenses and gradually reducing the deficit and controlling debt.
The Forum noted that the budget law project relies on a set of assumptions related to economic growth rates, global interest rates, financing costs, and the size of external aid, making it essential to analyze expenditure, revenue, and deficit estimates to understand how consistent they are with the path of financial sustainability. These assumptions are based on moderate growth expectations, relative inflation stability, nominal growth alongside limited pressures on the balance of payments.
The Forum pointed out that the financial tables of the budget show a gradual increase in the size of public revenues, reaching 10.93 billion dinars in 2026 compared to 10.015 billion dinars in 2025, an increase of 9.1%. This trend will continue to rise, reaching 11.35 billion dinars in 2027 and 11.82 billion dinars in 2028, indicating a gradual improvement in local revenues. In comparison, public expenses will rise to 13.06 billion dinars in 2026 compared to 12.27 billion dinars in 2025, an increase of 6.4%, with the upward trend continuing over the coming years.
It emphasized that the financial gap remains despite the improvement in revenues, as the deficit is expected to persist due to expenses growing at a rate that exceeds the capacity of revenues to keep up, although the increase in revenues reflects a gradual improvement in self-financing and reducing dependence on external grants.
The data shows that local revenues will reach 10.19 billion dinars, growing by 9.9%, while tax revenues will rise to 7.66 billion dinars, a growth of 10.9%; however, non-tax revenues will witness a limited increase of 6.8% to reach 2.54 billion dinars, while grants will stabilize at 735 million dinars.
Comparing local revenues between 2021 and 2026, it is clear that they have grown from 7.324 billion dinars to 10.196 billion dinars, an increase of 39%, reflecting a gradual corrective path that strengthens self-reliance as the expense coverage ratio from own resources goes from 84.2% in 2024 to 89% in 2026, then to 93.5% in 2028, thus enhancing financial independence and mitigating vulnerability to external fluctuations.
Regarding expenses, current expenses will rise to 11.45 billion dinars, an increase of 5.1%, while capital expenses will increase by 17% to reach 1.6 billion dinars, a trend that reflects support for developmental projects despite ongoing pressures. Allocations for goods and service usage will also rise by 12%, reflecting an increase in operating costs.
Concerning capital expenditure, a tren...
