Fiscal deficit hit JD3.809b in first 5 months of 2023 — Finance Ministry

AMMAN — The post-grants financial deficit in the central government’s general budget decreased by approximately JD489.5 million during the first five months of 2023, compared with a financial deficit of about JD561.6 million during the same period last year, the Finance Ministry announced on Sunday.

The pre-foreign grants deficit also went down by approximately JD506.5 million during the January-May of this year, contrary to a financial deficit of about JD603.6 million during the same period of 2022, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported, citing a ministry bulletin.

The decrease in the fiscal deficit, which represents the difference between general revenues and expenditures, reached JD3.809 billion, compared with JD3.418 billion for the same period last year, while public expenditure stood at JD4.298 billion.

Foreign grants amounted to JD17 million during the first five months of this year, compared with JD41.9 million during the same period last year, registering a decline of JD24.9 million, or 59.4 per cent.

Government debt reached JD31.086 billion by the end of May, equal to 89.8 per cent of the estimated May 2023 GDP, compared with JD30.667 billion by the end of 2022.

Foreign debt amounted to JD17.535 billion, or 50.7 billion of the estimated GDP for May 2023, as opposed to JD16.488 billion by the end of 2022.

The domestic debt at the end of May 2023 stood at approximately JD13.551 billion, or 39.1 per cent of the estimated GDP for May 2023, compared with JD14.178 billion at the end of 2022.