Kuwait's 2020-21 budget deficit increases 175% to record 10.8 bln dinars

CAIRO: Kuwait's budget deficit increased 174.8% in the 2020-21 year to 10.8 billion dinars ($35.5 billion), the finance ministry said on Saturday, noting it was the highest deficit in the country's fiscal history.

Revenue dropped to 10.5 billion dinars in the financial year that ended on March 31, down 38.9%, while expenditure increased 0.7% to 21.3 billion dinars, the ministry said in a statement. Kuwait's parliament in June approved the 2021-22 state budget proposed by the government in January, which projected 23.05 billion dinars in expenditure and a deficit of 12.1 billion dinars.