Saudi Budget: Education, health account for 39% of expenditures in 1H, military spending up 12%

The quarterly report on the performance of the Saudi budget during the second quarter of this year revealed that the education, health and social services items accounted for about 39% of the Saudi budget spending during the first half of this year, as total spending on the two items recorded about SR 197.8 billion out of a total of SR 512.9 billion.

According to the data, spending on health and social development amounted to about SR 99.5 billion during the first half of this year, compared to SR 91.8 billion during the same period of 2021, an increase of 8%, which shows that the state continues to meet all health needs while continuing to provide vaccines and services to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

Moreover, spending on health and social development in the first half of this year is 72% of the approved for the sector, which means that by the end of the second half of this year, spending on the sector will rise above the approved amount. This confirms the state’s readiness to increase allocations for health and social development according to the requirements and needs because it represents an important sector that the government gives the necessary attention to.

At the level of the education sector, data showed that the state spent about SR 98.3 billion on the sector during the first 6 months of this year, an increase of 8% over the same period last year, where what was spent on the sector constituted 53% of the budget approved for it for the current year.

Budget data indicate that military spending during the first half of this year increased by 12% over the same period last year, to record SR 105.1 billion, compared to SR 93.9 billion for the same period last year, thus spending 62% of the approved military spending budget this year, and illustrates the state’s keenness to Protecting its security and providing any requirements that would enhance the military capabilities of the Kingdom.