The UAE’s public spending in the first quarter of 2022 totaled AED87.4 billion ($23.79 billion), an increase of 19.6 percent and equivalent to AED14.34 billion, compared to AED73.7 billion in the same period of the previous year, according to data from the Ministry of Finance.
The figures also highlighted the fact that the country’s public spending in the first quarter of 2022 included some AED28.7 billion for employee compensation payments, compared to AED24.6 billion in the same reporting period in 2021, an increase of 16.6 percent and equivalent to AED4.1 billion.
Employee compensation is the sum of cash and in-kind rewards payable to government employees, which include wages or salaries, allowances, bonuses and other benefits, as well as social contributions paid to social insurance programmes on behalf of employees.
Furthermore, the public spending included goods and services usage worth AED30.9 billion, as well as AED14.1 billion for social benefits, AED6.4 billion for financial aid, AED1.7 billion for interest, AED1.6 billion for fixed capital expenditure, AED304 million for grants, and AED3.8 billion for other expenses.
The data also showed that revenues amounted to AED123.8 billion in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of 39.1 percent or equivalent to AED34.8 billion, compared to AED88.9 billion in the same period of 2021.
The distribution of first quarter revenues included taxes on companies extracting oil and producing natural gas, banks operating in the country, customs fees, and other fees worth AED56.7 billion, while social contributions amounted to AED4.9 billion and other revenues to AED62.2 billion.
The Ministry of Finance said the government’s financial statistics are reports of national and international interest, as they highlight the total value of government operations in the country, as well as the government sector’s contribution to the national economy and the allocation of resources by the government for various purposes.