Revenues of UAE Stood at $31.47 billion in Q1 of 2023

The UAE government’s revenues in the first quarter of 2023 stood at $31.47 billion, while expenditures totalled $25.18 billion, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday.

However, this was lower compared with the total revenues in the previous quarter of Q4 of 2022. The revenues during the previous quarter were $39 billion.

According to the preliminary results of the UAE Government Finance Statistics Report for the first quarter, total revenues included $17.29 billion in tax revenues, $1.06 billion in revenues from social contributions, and $13.12 billion of other revenues from property income, sales of goods and services, fines and penalties, among others.

The expenditures comprised net investment in non-financial assets and current expenses, including employees’ wages, use of goods and services, consumption of fixed capital, paid interest, subsidies, grants, social benefits, and other transfers.

The value of net lending/net borrowing amounted to $6.32 billion during the period.

Younis Haji Al Khouri, Undersecretary of Ministry of Finance, said that these results reflected the efficiency of government expenditure and effective utilisation of financial resources in directing them to priority strategic sectors.

It also showcases the advancement of the government’s financial framework and its success in developing new and diversified sources of government revenue away from oil and adopting effective financial policies to manage and develop the government’s financial resources, he explained.

Non-Oil Sector to Grow

“The government’s financial performance enhances the UAE’s competitiveness and its move towards sustainable socio-economic development. The World Bank projects that the UAE’s non-oil sector is expected to achieve strong growth by the end of 2023, driven by robust domestic demand, particularly in tourism, real estate, construction, transportation, and manufacturing sectors,” Al Khouri added.

Publishing the preliminary results of the UAE Government Finance Statistics Report for Q1 of 2023 is in line with the open data policy followed by the UAE and based on the standards of the Government Finance Statistics Manual issued by the International Monetary Fund.

Government Finance Statistics (GFS) shows the total volume of government operations in the country and measures the financial activities of the government in an economy, and the government’s allocation of resources. 

These statistics are an essential element in sound financial analysis, monitoring public expenditures, and play a pivotal role in setting financial programs and monitoring economic policies. It is a key type of macroeconomic statistics that serves political leaders, decision-makers, researchers, and those interested in the financial sector, making it one of the statistics of high local and international interest.

Therefore, the open data portal in the Ministry of Finance allows access to data that can be used by developers, researchers, the media, and the public, in line with the concept of open government data and the era of digital transformation.