Oil revenues anchor 88% of Iraq’s 2025 budget

2026-03-04 - 23:54

Shafaq News- Baghdad Iraq continues to rely on oil as the backbone of its budget, with the sector covering 88% of federal revenues in 2025, the Ministry of Finance reported on Wednesday. According to the data shared, total revenues for the year surpassed 124.2 trillion Iraqi dinars ($94B). Oil accounted for 109.2 trillion dinars ($83B), while non-oil revenues reached 15.0 trillion dinars ($11.4B). Transfers from the Kurdistan Region added 0.92 trillion dinars ($700M) to the federal treasury. Government spending totaled 119.2 trillion dinars (nearly $90.8B), with the largest portions directed to public sector salaries, retirees, and social welfare programs. Public employees received 60.4 trillion dinars ($46B), retirees drew 20 trillion dinars ($15.3B), and social welfare payments accounted for 5.6 trillion dinars ($4.3B). In earlier remarks to Shafaq News, government economic adviser Mudher Mohammed Saleh explained that decades of war, international sanctions, and political instability had undermined efforts to diversify the economy and expand non-oil revenue sources. He also warned that this dependence exposes Iraq to market shocks, often forcing the government to cover budget gaps through borrowing, while sustainable alternatives remain limited. Read more: Iraq’s economy in 2025: Oil dominance and delayed reforms