Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

UAE government offers spending boost to budget

Education will benefit from the increased government spend Creative Commons
Education will benefit from the increased government spend

The UAE’s federal government aims to increase spending by AED1.23 billion ($334.9 million) in the 2022 budget, the Federal National Council said on Twitter today.

The UAE estimates revenues will be AED374.98 million higher. The increased spending will come from the federal government’s general reserves, the council added.

The UAE in October approved a 2022 federal budget of AED58.9 billion.

The federal budget accounts for only a fraction of consolidated state spending in the UAE as individual emirates such as Abu Dhabi and Dubai also have their own budgets. It is, however, an indication of official plans for the economy.

According to the UAE government’s official website, the largest share of the 2022 budget has been allocated to the development and social benefits sector at 41.2 percent, out of which the UAE will spend 16.3 percent on education, 6 percent on social development, 8.4 percent on health, 8.2 percent on pensions and 2.6 percent on other services.

Meanwhile, 3.8 percent of the budget has been allocated to the infrastructure and financial resources sector.

The budget for 2022 was announced last October as part of the country’s general budget for the next five years from 2022-2026, with a total value of AED290 billion, the largest spending budget in the UAE’s history.

The budget was set at the time when the UAE had begun winding down an economic support program that was launched in response to the coronavirus pandemic.