Eco Iraq: 81% of the budget goes to salaries and 6% to investment
Eco Iraq: 81% of the budget goes to salaries and 6% to investment
2026-08-01
Shafaq News – Baghdad
The Eco Iraq Observatory announced on Saturday that salaries for employees, retirees, and social welfare allowances alone account for 81% of the total general budget, compared to only 6% for the investment budget .
The observatory stated in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency that “the operational budget, which includes salaries, asset maintenance and grants, represents about 94% of the state’s total expenditures,” indicating that “salaries, wages, pensions and social welfare allowances account for about 81% of the total general budget .”
He added that “these figures reflect the continued dominance of the salaries item in the structure of public spending,” noting that “the Kurdistan Region’s share amounts to 11.58% of the total general budget .”
He pointed out that “the investment budget, which represents 6% of total expenditures, is distributed across the sectors of buildings, industry, education and agriculture, in addition to other investment sectors .”
The Eco Iraq Observatory pointed out that “the agricultural sector receives the least investment allocations, as its share does not exceed 0.02% of total investment spending .”
The observatory concluded that “the continued rise in the share of operational spending at the expense of investment spending limits the economy’s ability to implement development projects and weakens the chances of achieving sustainable growth in the productive sectors .”
shafaq.com
