Ministry reports successes in 2017 macroeconomic indicators

AMMAN — The post-grant budget deficit in 2017 stood at JD750 million, compared to JD880 million in 2016, reducing the deficit to the GDP ratio to 2.6 per cent in 2017, down from 3.2 per cent in 2016, the Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.

The deficit dropped by 15 per cent in 2017, compared to 2016, while its average in the past 10 years stands at 30 per cent, according to the ministry statement, carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

By the end of 2017, meanwhile, the public debt totalled JD27.25 billion, or 95.3 per cent of the GDP, up from JD26.1 billion in 2016, or 95.1 per cent of the GDP, the ministry announced.

The public debt growth in 2017 amounted to JD1.2 billion from the 2016 figure, while the average increase for the past five years stands at JD2.2 billion, according to the ministry. 

Domestic revenues in 2017 stood at JD6.72 billion, registering an increase of JD484 million, marking a 7.7 per cent increase from 2016, when the state earned JD6.23 billion.

The grants received in 2017 totalled JD708 million, compared with JD835 million in 2016, down by JD127 million, or a drop of 15 per cent.

Meanwhile, current expenditures in 2017 stood at JD7.1 billion, witnessing an increase of JD178 million that equals 2.5 per cent when compared to 2016 figures, when they totalled JD6.9 billion.

Capital expenditure in 2017 increased by JD49 million to JD1.08 billion, up from JD1.03 in 2016, marking a 4.9 per cent rise. 

As for self-reliance, domestic revenues covered around 95 per cent of the capital expenditures in 2017, compared to 90 per cent in 2016.