How the UAE’s record budget will be spent in 2025

The UAE has approved its federal budget for 2025 and focused most of next year’s spending on social benefits and government affairs.

The Gulf state’s budget maintains a balance between income and spending, with both revenues and expenditures approved at $19.6bn (Dhs71.5bn).

The record-breaking federal budget underscores the UAE’s robust economy and its ability to sustain crucial development, economic, and social initiatives.

UAE Cabinet, chaired by Mohammed bin Rashid, approves federal budget for fiscal year 2025 totaling AED71.5 billion in expenditures#UAEGOV pic.twitter.com/p8SvlI1gMA

— UAEGOV (@UAEmediaoffice) October 8, 2024

The federal budget, which is part of the 2022-2026 multi-year financial plan, is divided among key sectors such as social development and pensions, government affairs, infrastructure and economic affairs, financial investments, and other federal expenses. The country approved a $52.3bn budget for 2024-26 last October.

Social development and benefits accounted for 39 per cent (Dhs27.9bn) of the federal budget in 2025, followed by government affairs at 35.7 per cent (Dhs25.6bn).

Nearly 15.3 per cent (Dhs10.92bn) will go to public and higher education, 17.7 per cent (Dhs12.6bn) to other federal expenditures, 8 per cent to (Dhs5.71bn) to pensions, 8 per cent (Dhs5.74bn) to healthcare and community prevention services, and 5.2 per cent (Dhs3.8bn) to social affairs.

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