Doha: The State of Qatar’s general budget posted a deficit of QR 0.5 billion during Q1 2025 (January, February, and March), the Ministry of Finance (MoF) announced on Tuesday.
According to Qatar News Agency, in a statement published on its account on the social media platform X, MoF highlighted that the deficit was covered through debt instruments, based on the actual data for Qatar’s budget performance in Q1 2025.
The total revenues for Q1 2025 stood at approximately QR 49.4 billion, representing a 7.5 percent decrease compared to Q1 2024, the statement read. It clarified that these revenues comprised QR 42.5 billion in oil and gas revenues and QR 6.9 billion in non-oil revenues.
The statement further noted that total public expenditure during Q1 2025 amounted to roughly QR 49.9 billion, registering a 2.8 percent decline compared to Q1 2024. The expenditure was allocated as follows: QR 16.9 billion for salaries and wages, QR 18.5 billion for current expenditures, QR 13.1 billion for major capital expenditures, and QR 1.2 billion for minor capital expenditures.
The statement highlighted that the total value of government procurement contracts executed through tenders and auctions by public entities during Q1 2025 amounted to approximately QR 6.4 billion. Contracts awarded to foreign companies totaled around QR 1.5 billion, marking a 50 percent increase compared to Q1 2024.
Overall, MoF stated that the top four sectors according to the Business Activity Index during Q1 2025 were municipality and environment, health, energy, and the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers.