Financial shock in Iraq: March revenues not enough to pay salaries
Financial shock in Iraq: March revenues not enough to pay salaries
2026-04-13
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Financial expert Mahmoud Dagher warned on Monday of the repercussions of declining oil revenues in Iraq, considering that the Iraqi economy has become closer to a “salary economy,” which puts public finances under increasing pressure that may push the government to borrow to secure basic expenses.
Dagher told Shafaq News Agency that “the Iraqi economy today is mainly based on financing salaries and operating expenses, which makes it a consumer economy more than a productive one,” noting that this pattern reflects “a deep structural imbalance.”
He added that the oil export revenues for March, amounting to about two billion dollars, “are not enough to cover the salaries item,” given a need estimated at about 8 trillion dinars, which creates a financial gap that pushes the government to “resort to borrowing or issuing money.”
He explained that the government relies on domestic borrowing during periods of declining or halting exports, warning that continuing this approach “could lead to inflationary pressures and erode monetary stability.”
He pointed out that the almost total dependence on oil makes public finances vulnerable to shocks, whether from price fluctuations or export disruptions, which threatens the state’s ability to meet its obligations, especially employee salaries.
Dagher called for a shift towards a productive economy by revitalizing the industrial, agricultural and service sectors, reducing reliance on government employment, and implementing financial and structural reforms to promote sustainability.
Oil revenues for March showed a significant decline, according to Iraqi oil statistics, with exports reaching about 18.6 million barrels with revenues exceeding $1.95 billion, according to data from the State Oil Marketing Company (SOMO).
The statistics showed that exports from central and southern Iraq amounted to more than 14.5 million barrels, while the Kurdistan Region exported about 1.27 million barrels through the Ceyhan port, in addition to 2.77 million barrels of Kirkuk oil through the same port.
shafaq.com
