Iraq recorded a budget deficit of 6.672 trillion Iraqi dinars (IQD) during the first four months of the year, driven by a stark imbalance where operational and consumer spending swallowed nearly all state expenditures, while the federal government transferred 4.171 trillion dinars to the Kurdistan Region to fund public sector salaries.

According to official financial statements released by the Iraqi Ministry of Finance, total state revenues reached 31.163 trillion dinars.

Hydrocarbon revenues continued to serve as the primary driver of the economy, with oil revenue yielding 26.121 trillion dinars to account for 84 percent of the country’s total income.

Conversely, non-oil sectors contributed 16 percent of the aggregate revenues, bringing in 5.041 trillion dinars.

Operational Costs Swallow 99% of Iraq's Budget 

On the expenditure side, Iraq's total public spending reached 37.835 trillion dinars during the same four-month period. 

Financial data highlights a severe systemic reliance on consumer and operational spending, which devoured 99.62 percent of the budget. This left a mere 0.38 percent of public funds available for the country’s critical investment sector.

Finance Ministry and Cabinet Lead Iraq’s Public Spending Outlays 

A ministry-by-ministry breakdown reveals that the Ministry of Finance logged the highest expenditure volume across the government, spending 9.232 trillion dinars. 

The Ministry of Interior recorded the second-highest outlays at 4.450 trillion dinars, followed closely by the Ministry of Education at 3.687 trillion dinars.

The report also disclosed the operational outlays of Iraq's three sovereign presidencies. The Council of Ministers led the group with expenditures totaling 2.623 trillion dinars, while the Council of Representatives spent 198 billion dinars, and the Presidency of the Republic registered the lowest operational cost at 15 billion dinars.

Baghdad Sustains Kurdistan Salary Funding 

Amid these domestic fiscal pressures, the federal government maintained its financial commitments to Erbil. 

The ministry report confirmed that Baghdad transferred 4.171 trillion dinars during the first four months of the year specifically to fund the monthly salaries of Kurdistan Region civil servants.