Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — In the first quarter of 2025, the share of wage expenditures in Uzbekistan’s state budget decreased to 47% of total budget spending, down from over 52% in the same period last year, according to data on budget execution published by the Ministry of Economy and Finance for January–March 2025.

In absolute terms, 36.4 trillion Uzbek soums were allocated for salaries and related charges, which is 0.4 trillion soums less than in Q1 2024. Against a backdrop of persistent inflation and rising prices, this decline means a more pronounced real reduction in wage spending.

Meanwhile, social budget items—including funding for science, healthcare, culture, sports, benefits, and other areas—increased by 17.7%, from 33.9 trillion to 39.9 trillion soums. Their share in total government expenditures grew from 48.2% to 51.5%.

Specifically, expenditures were as follows:

Education: 18.48 trillion soums (+15.4%)

Healthcare: 9.3 trillion soums (+18.2%)

Culture and sports: 9.3 trillion soums (+45.7%)

Science: 464.2 billion soums (+8.7%)

At the same time, social support payments—benefits, compensations, and financial aid—declined by 22.8%, from 4.3 trillion to 3.33 trillion soums. This reduction is linked to a new policy on targeted support. Deputy Minister Akhadbek Khaydarov announced during the 2024 budget revision the intent to save 2 trillion soums by tightening eligibility criteria and reallocating funds based on “social justice” principles.

Spending on government administration—including administrative bodies, justice authorities, prosecution, courts, mahallas, and support for non-governmental non-profit organizations—increased by 18.4% to 4.5 trillion soums compared to the same period last year.

Despite overall healthcare spending growth, the payroll fund in this sector rose by only 1.8%, from 5.02 to 5.11 trillion soums. Healthcare remains the sector with the lowest average salary: in Q1, the average wage increased from 3 million to 3.63 million soums (+11.1%), whereas in Q1 2024, it had grown by 18.7%. This trend may indicate workforce optimization.

Material incentives for healthcare workers decreased by 35% to 184.3 billion soums. Funding for pharmaceuticals and medical supplies fell by 2% to 456.9 billion soums, and spending on medical equipment dropped by 5.3% to 55.6 billion soums.