Qatar has announced a surplus of $24.4 billion (QAR 89 billion) in its 2022 budget, a whopping 5462.5% rise from the 2021 figure of $439.4 million (QAR 1.6 billion).
During the fourth quarter of 2022, the budget recorded a surplus of $3.2 billion (QAR 11.6 billion), compared to a deficit of $906.3 million (QAR 3.3 billion) in the same period a year earlier, Qatar News Agency reported Thursday, citing data from the Ministry of Finance.
Qatar's revenues in the fourth quarter of 2022 amounted to $17.9 billion (QAR 65.1 billion), compared to $14.1 billion (QAR 51.5 billion) in the same period in 2021.
Oil and gas revenues in Qatar registered about $16.3 billion (QAR 59.3 billion) in the fourth quarter of last year, compared to $12.3 billion (QAR 44.7 billion) in the corresponding period of 2021. Total expenditures stood at $14.7 billion (QAR 53.5 billion) in the October-December period, compared to $15.1 billion (QAR 54.8 billion) in the same period in 2021.
Wages took $4.2 billion (QAR 15.4 billion) from the budget during the fourth quarter, the report said. Current expenditures recorded $5.3 billion (QAR 19.3 billion) for the quarter, compared to $4.4 billion (QAR 16.1 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2021.
In 2022, expenditures tied to major projects declined to $4.8 billion (QAR 17.4 billion), compared to $6.2 billion (QAR 22.6 billion) in 2021.
Some $2.3 billion (QAR 8.3 billion) in deficit were expected when Qatar's 2022 budget was first approved in December 2021. Qatar's Finance Minister Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari said at the time that the deficit was due to FIFA World Cup 2022-related expenses, including security.
