More than half of Azerbaijan’s budget spending went to social sector in first half

Azerbaijan’s state budget expenditures totalled 16.78 billion manats in the first half of 2026, equivalent to 40.2% of the annual plan, the Finance Ministry said.

Social spending, including wages, pensions, social benefits and compulsory health insurance, amounted to 8.79 billion manats, or 52.4% of total budget expenditures, up 12.1% from a year earlier.

The largest spending categories were defence and national security (3.44 billion manats), economic affairs (2.58 billion manats), education (2.40 billion manats) and social protection (2.36 billion manats).

The government allocated 1.06 billion manats for the reconstruction of territories regained after the conflict, mainly for roads, housing and other infrastructure projects.

Debt servicing costs totalled 944.8 million manats. As of July 1, Azerbaijan’s external public debt stood at $4.62 billion, equivalent to about 6% of projected GDP, while domestic public debt totalled 15.98 billion manats, or 12.2% of GDP.

N. Tebrizli