Turkiye's budget balance posts $21.6B deficit in 2021

ANKARA

Turkiye's central government budget balance posted a 192.3 billion Turkish liras ($21.6 billion) deficit in 2021, the Treasury and Finance Ministry announced on Monday.

The figure, below the government's target, widened by 9.7% from a 175.3-billion Turkish lira ($25 billion) deficit in 2020.

According to the medium-term economic program published in September 2021, the budget deficit was expected to be 230 billion Turkish liras ($27.7 billion) last year.

Turkiye's budget revenues surged by 36.8% year-on-year to 1.4 trillion liras ($158.4 billion) last year.

Its expenditures reached nearly 1.6 trillion liras ($180 billion) in 2021, rising 32.9% from a year ago.

Excluding interest payments, the budget balance saw a deficit of 11.4 billion liras ($1.3 billion) in 2021.

Tax revenues totaled 1.2 trillion liras ($131 billion), while interest payments were 180.9 billion liras ($20.4 billion) in the same period.

One US dollar traded for 8.8880 liras on average in 2021 and 13.3384 in December.

Monthly figures

In December 2021, the budget balance of the central government registered a deficit of 145.7 billion Turkish liras (some $10.9 billion), growing from 43 billion Turkish liras ($5.5 billion) in December 2020.

Budget revenues were 135.1 billion liras ($10.1 billion) last month, rising 40% year-on-year.

Turkiye's budget expenditures doubled from a year ago to 280.8 billion liras ($21.1 billion) last month.

Excluding interest payments, the central government budget balance recorded a 136.7-billion-lira ($10.3 billion) deficit in December 2021.