5 Challenges Facing the Iraqi Budget in 2027; From Oil to the Kurdistan Region's Share

According to KurdPress, economic expert Nabil Martouti, referring to the challenges facing the preparation of the Iraqi budget for 2027, outlined five main issues that could affect the process of preparing and implementing this budget.

Describing the first challenge, Martouti pointed to the difficulty of estimating the price of each barrel of oil and the amount of oil exports, and said that the current conditions in the region, especially the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the lack of a clear outlook on how long this situation will continue, have made it difficult to predict oil revenues.He considered the second challenge to be securing financial resources to cover the projected costs in the budget, adding that these costs may exceed 60 trillion dinars.

According to this economic expert, a significant increase in domestic debt and the possibility of receiving large foreign loans will be factors affecting the financial situation of the Iraqi government.

Tharuti also mentioned the Kurdistan Region's share of the budget as another important issue in the 2027 budget. According to his explanation, the region's share has increased to 14.1 percent based on the latest population census, and the amount of this share is estimated at about 29 trillion dinars.The economic expert went on to point out the case of hiring and converting contracts into permanent employment, as well as financial obligations related to government employees, and said that the payment of some of these obligations has been delayed for more than a year, and their determination could affect budget expenditures.

According to Tshoruti, the Ministry of Oil’s financial allocations will also be another challenge in the 2027 budget, as these allocations will increase significantly, and this increase is related to the implementation of a new economic model for determining the price of domestic oil allocated for domestic consumption.