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Middle East and Central Asia > Saudi Arabia

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Cover Policy Papers
FY2025–FY2027 Medium-Term Budget
International Monetary Fund. Office of Budget and Planning
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund approved the 2025-27 financial years (FY25-27) medium-term budget. While the global economy has shown resilience to successive adverse shocks, the overall global economic context remains complex with slow and uneven growth, increased fragmentation, deepening divergence, and still high interest rates despite easing inflationary pressures. Against this backdrop, the FY25-27 budget continues to be guided by principles of agility and budget discipline, reinforced by ongoing reprioritization and savings capture. It also builds on strong cooperation with other institutions, ensuring the Fund continues to focus on areas within its mandate, even as it addresses new demands. Work to strengthen internal operations also continue, focusing on both efficiency and effectiveness in meeting changing needs in the post-pandemic workplace, where rapid technological changes are underway. With significant demands within a constrained budget environment, the budget reflects difficult tradeoffs.
Keywords:
medium-term budget; OBP; budget framework; financial support; A. budget overview; budget agility; I. budget process overview; budget envelope; budget remain; budget resource; Budget planning and preparation; Capital budget; Global; Sub-Saharan Africa
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Burundi: Request for a 38-Month Arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Burundi
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This paper highlights Burundi’s Request for a 38-Month Arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF). Burundi faces protracted balance of payments needs with a widening current account deficit and low foreign reserves coverage, large development needs, and macroeconomic challenges triggered by spillovers from the war in Ukraine and domestic climate shocks and livestock sanitary crisis. The 38-month arrangement under the ECF will help cushion Burundi’s adjustment and support the authorities’ reform agenda aimed at reducing debt vulnerabilities, recalibrating exchange rate and monetary policies to restore external sustainability, and strengthening inclusive economic growth and governance. Under the ECF arrangement, the authorities aim to recalibrate Burundi’s macroeconomic policy mix. They plan to restore external sustainability with the unification of the official and parallel exchange rate markets and foreign exchange market liberalization, while being attuned to financial sector vulnerabilities. They will strengthen debt sustainability and achieve a better-quality fiscal consolidation path through higher domestic revenue mobilization, scaled-up investment and better targeted spending, and prudent borrowing.
Keywords:
year contract; Burundian authorities; coordination committee; FX market liberalization; policy reform; anchor inflation expectation; Currency markets; Africa; Global; Southern Africa; East Africa
Cover IMF Working Papers
Gender Budgeting in G20 Countries
Virginia Alonso-Albarran
,
Ms. Teresa R Curristine
,
Gemma Preston
,
Alberto Soler
,
Nino Tchelishvili
, and
Sureni Weerathunga
Achieving gender equality remains a significant challenge, that has only deepened with the on-set of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gender budgeting (GB) can help promote gender equality by applying a gender perspective to fiscal policies and the budget process. This paper takes stock of GB practices in G20 countries and benchmarks country performance using a GB index and data gathered from an IMF survey. All G20 countries have enacted gender focused fiscal policies but the public financial management (PFM) tools to operationalize these policies are far less established. We find that notwithstanding heterogeneity across countries, the average G20 level of GB practice is relatively low. More progress has been made establishing GB frameworks and budget preparation tools than with budget execution, monitoring and auditing. Too few countries assess the upfront impact of policies on gender and/or evaluate ex-post the effectiveness of policies and programs. Where GB features are in place, they tend to operate as an ‘add-on’, rather than a strategic and integral part of resource allocation decisions. Progress with GB does not appear to be dependent on the level of country development. Key to future efforts will be harnessing opportunities for integrating GB tools into existing PFM systems and more closely linking GB initiatives with PFM reforms.
Keywords:
G20; Gender Equality; Gender Budgeting; Public Financial Management; GB practice; GB tool; Gender budgeting (Gb; GB index; IMF Gender Budgeting approach; Gender inequality; Gender budgeting; Budget planning and preparation; Women; Africa
Cover IMF Working Papers
Enhancing Fiscal Transparency and Reporting in India
Patrick Blagrave
and
Mr. Fabien Gonguet
Current fiscal transparency and reporting practices in India place it behind most peer G20 economies, implying that policy makers are lacking critical data to ground their fiscal and other economic planning decisions. The increasing use of off-budget financing at the central government level in recent years represents one key example of reduced transparency—we provide estimates of the public sector borrowing requirement and an extended notion of the fiscal deficit, each of which shows a more expansionary stance in recent years than ‘headline’ deficit figures presented in budget documents. We then investigate the current state of fiscal reporting practices in India and suggest areas for reforms—these include enhanced IT systems, stronger central-local coordination, and a gradual transition to accrual accounting.
Keywords:
Government Statistics; Budget Systems; India; WP; Union government; cash-basis accounting regime; General government data; borrowing need; government activity; Fiscal Reporting; Government debt management; Budget planning and preparation; Fiscal risks; Africa; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Pakistan: First Review Under the Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility and Request for Modification of Performance Criteria-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Pakistan
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This paper discusses Pakistan’s First Review Under the Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility and Request for Modification of Performance Criteria. Pakistan’s program is on track and has started to bear fruit. However, risks remain elevated. Strong ownership and steadfast reform implementation are critical to entrench macroeconomic stability and support robust and balanced growth. The authorities are committed to sustaining the progress on fiscal adjustment to place debt on a downward path. The planned reforms include strengthening tax revenue mobilization, including the elimination of tax exemptions and loopholes, and prudent expenditure policies. Preparations for a comprehensive tax policy reform should start early to ensure timely implementation. The authorities have adopted a comprehensive plan to address the accumulation of arrears in the power sector. Its full implementation is key to improve collection, reduce losses, and enhance governance. Timely and regular adjustment of energy tariffs will bring the sector in line with cost recovery.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; exchange rate; government; reform implementation; implementation; SDR; private sector investment; government effort; reform of the state-owned enterprise sector; Pakistani authorities; economic reform reform program; Budget planning and preparation; Tariffs; Global; Asia and Pacific
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Saudi Arabia: 2019 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
This 2019 Article IV Consultation with Saudi Arabia discusses that reforms are starting to yield positive results. Oil prices and production have been volatile, and uncertainties in the global oil market continue. Promoting non-oil growth and creating jobs for Saudi nationals remain key challenges. Non-oil growth is expected to strengthen further this year and over the medium term. Risks to the growth outlook are broadly balanced. The fiscal deficit declined in 2018; however, higher government spending has increased medium-term fiscal vulnerabilities to a decline in oil prices. Fiscal consolidation is needed to reduce these vulnerabilities. The fiscal framework should be further strengthened to help reduce the procyclicality of government spending. Reforms to improve the business environment are proceeding but need to be complemented by efforts to increase the cost competitiveness of Saudi labor. Government support to develop sectors of the economy should crowd in the private sector and be timebound and linked to performance.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; SDR Department; economy; deficit; growth; private sector; IMF staff calculation; economy well; water price reform; reform agenda; totaling SDR; Oil prices; Budget planning and preparation; Income; Global; Europe; East Asia; Asia and Pacific; East Africa
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Saudi Arabia: 2019 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
Reforms are starting to yield positive results. Oil prices and production have been volatile, and uncertainties in the global oil market continue. Promoting non-oil growth and creating jobs for Saudi nationals remain key challenges. Non-oil growth is expected to strengthen further this year and over the medium term. Risks to the growth outlook are broadly balanced.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; SDR Department; economy; deficit; growth; private sector
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Central African Republic: Sixth Review Under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement, Requests for Waivers of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria and Financing Assurances Review-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Central African Republic
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
President Touadéra signed a new peace agreement on February 6, 2019 with 14 armed groups. This agreement calls for the establishment of an inclusive government, the deployment of joint brigades, an acceleration of decentralization efforts, and the co-management of natural resources. While its implementation has started, including with the appointment of more inclusive government, the security situation remains volatile. The World Bank (WB) and the European Union (EU) have substantially increased their budgetary support (grants) for 2019–20. The authorities have expressed a strong interest in a successor arrangement.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; ECF arrangement; government; financing; assessment of the ability; debt
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Central African Republic: Sixth Review Under the Extended Credit Facility Arrangement, Requests for Waivers of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria and Financing Assurances Review-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for the Central African Republic
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
President Touadéra signed a new peace agreement on February 6, 2019 with 14 armed groups. This agreement calls for the establishment of an inclusive government, the deployment of joint brigades, an acceleration of decentralization efforts, and the co-management of natural resources. While its implementation has started, including with the appointment of more inclusive government, the security situation remains volatile. The World Bank (WB) and the European Union (EU) have substantially increased their budgetary support (grants) for 2019–20. The authorities have expressed a strong interest in a successor arrangement.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; ECF arrangement; government; financing; assessment of the ability; debt; assessment of policy issue; IMF's Executive Board; peace agreement; Arrears; Budget planning and preparation; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Pakistan: Request for an Extended Arrangement Under the Extended Fund Facility-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Pakistan
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
Pakistan’s economy is at a critical juncture. Misaligned economic policies, including large fiscal deficits, loose monetary policy, and defense of an overvalued exchange rate, fueled consumption and short-term growth in recent years, but steadily eroded macroeconomic buffers, increased external and public debt, and depleted international reserves. Structural weaknesses remained largely unaddressed, including a chronically weak tax administration, a difficult business environment, inefficient and loss making SOEs, and low labor productivity amid a large informal economy. Without urgent policy action, economic and financial stability could be at risk, and growth prospects will be insufficient to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; government; letter of credit; fund letters of credit; approval; Pakistani authorities; economic reform program; overvalued exchange rate; deficit monetization; Budget planning and preparation; Global; Asia and Pacific