Iraq’s draft federal budget for 2027 will be sent to parliament by November 15, after its submission was postponed, the head of the parliament’s finance committee said on Monday.
Udai Awad, who chairs the Parliamentary Finance Committee, gave the new date to the state-run Iraqi News Agency, Kurdistan24 reported.
The cabinet returned the draft to the Ministry of Finance for review in mid-October, according to Kurdish outlet The New Region.
The draft projects total public spending of about 217.2 trillion dinars ($143.6 billion), according to a copy seen by The National. That would be the largest budget in Iraq’s history.
Revenue is projected at 174.2 trillion dinars, leaving a gap of about 43 trillion dinars. Crude oil sales account for about 144 trillion dinars of expected revenue and non-oil sources for 30.2 trillion dinars.
Salaries make up about 64.7 trillion dinars of planned spending and social welfare about 33 trillion dinars. Debt service is put at around 17 trillion dinars.
A government official told The National the budget could be built on an oil price of $58 a barrel and exports of around 4 million barrels a day, including from the Kurdistan Region.
Iraq’s oil exports fell from 3.36 million barrels a day in February to 131,000 barrels a day in April after the Iran war led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, The National reported. Exports have recovered to about 3.4 million barrels a day so far in October.
Iraqi foreign reserves have fallen from about $109 billion to $80.6 billion, according to central bank data cited by the newspaper.
The Kurdistan Region’s share of the draft is 13.308 trillion dinars, or 6.1% of total spending, down from 8.3% in 2023, according to Kurdistan24.
The head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s bloc in parliament said the party would not vote for the draft in its current form, Kurdistan24 reported.
Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has directed that more than 500,000 contract and temporary government workers be given permanent status under the 2027 budget, government spokesman Haidar al-Aboudi said on Saturday. Al-Zaidi also ordered 120,000 new contract positions to be distributed by population.
