Qatar’s Budget Surplus Reaches Two Billion Riyals in First Quarter of 2024

Qatar’s Ministry of Finance announced on Sunday that the state budget had achieved a surplus of two billion riyals ($548.9 million) during the first quarter of this year, as reported by the Qatar News Agency (QNA). The Ministry provided a statement through its official account on the “X” platform regarding the actual data of Qatar’s budget in the first quarter of 2024.

The ministry stated that total revenues for the first quarter of 2024 amounted to about 53.4 billion riyals, with 47.3 billion riyals coming from oil and gas revenues, while non-oil revenues amounted to 6.1 billion riyals. This represented a decrease of 22.1 percent compared to the first quarter of 2023. Total public spending during the first quarter of the year reached approximately 51.4 billion riyals, with 16.3 billion riyals allocated for salaries and wages, and 18.8 billion riyals for current expenses. Secondary capital expenditures amounted to 1.4 billion riyals, while major capital expenditures were 14.6 billion riyals. This showed a 5% increase compared to the first quarter of the previous year.

The Ministry emphasized that these funds will be directed to reducing public debt rather than creating a cash surplus, which was a positive move towards managing Qatar’s financial stability in the long run