Baku, September 16, 2025
Azerbaijan’s Finance Ministry has unveiled preliminary figures for the 2026 state budget, projecting revenues of 38.4 billion manats and expenditures of 41.5 billion manats, leaving a deficit of 3.1 billion manats (2.4% of GDP).
Economist-MP Vugar Bayramov highlighted several key points:
The budget is based on an oil price of $65 per barrel, in line with conservative global forecasts of $50–60.
Non-oil revenues are set to reach a record 57.4% of total income, signaling deeper fiscal diversification away from hydrocarbons.
Spending priorities include 8.7 billion manats for defense and national security, 7.6 billion for economic activity, and 4.8 billion for social protection.
Most notably, from January 2026, all types of labor pensions will be indexed and increased, benefiting around 1.1 million citizens. Social protection will account for over 40% of total expenditures, reinforcing the government’s focus on welfare.
