The Jordanian government approved the 2021 draft state budget and the draft law governing the budgets of independent public institutions on Nov. 28, and referred them to the newly elected parliament for debate and approval. King Abdullah II issued a decree Dec. 2 calling on the legislature to meet in an extraordinary session beginning Dec. 10. Lawmakers are expected to dedicate most of their upcoming sessions to discussing the draft state budget, which is expected to pass.

In a press conference held Nov. 30, Minister of Finance Mohamad Al-Ississ said the 7.875 billion Jordanian dinar ($11.1 billion) budget will be primarily financed from an estimated 7.298 billion dinars ($10.29 billion) in public revenue with a deficit of 2.05 billion dinars ($2.89 billion) after foreign aid — expected to be around 566 million dinars ($798 million). Ississ added that projected public expenditure for 2021 will be around 9.39 billion dinars ($13.2 billion), an increase of 6% compared with the 2020 budget.

The minister said that public payrolls (civic and military) and pensions comprise nearly 65% of the state’s 2021 spending, while public debt service will have a 17% provision. Capital spending is forecast at 1.181 billion dinars ($1.66 billion), up by 24.5% from the 2020 budget. Independent government institutions will have a deficit of 587 million dinars ($828 million).

Ississ said the government will not increase current tax rates or introduce new ones, but he said he expected the gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 2.5% compared to a negative growth of 5% this year. A sum of 165 million dinars ($232.7 million) has been provided to finance health care costs to fight the coronavirus.