Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan’s consolidated budget deficit amounted to 13.9 trillion soums, or 0.7% of GDP, in the first half of 2026. This was announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Jamshid Kuchkarov at a meeting of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis on 15 September.
According to him, consolidated budget revenues amounted to 287.2 trillion soums in January-June, while expenditures reached 301.2 trillion soums. The annual plan provides for a deficit of 3% of GDP.
Against the backdrop of continued uncertainty in the global economy, Uzbekistan’s economy grew by 8.5% in the first half of the year. Kuchkarov identified the expansion of services, construction, industry, investment and exports as the main drivers of growth.
Market services grew by 16.9%, construction work by around 13.3%, industrial production by 8%, and agriculture by 4.7%. Investment in fixed capital reached 339 trillion soums, while exports excluding gold increased by 31.6%.
During the first six months, Uzbekistan received 6.6 million foreign tourists. Annual inflation stood at 6.4%, down 2.3 percentage points from the same period last year.
State budget revenues reached around 207 trillion soums in the first half of the year, an increase of 43.7%, or 63 trillion soums, compared with January-June 2025. About 72% of revenues, or 149 trillion soums, came from revenues administered by the Tax Committee. Customs revenues amounted to around 41 trillion soums, or approximately 20% of total revenues.
Corporate income tax revenues reached 51 trillion soums, increasing 2.3-fold. Kuchkarov attributed the increase to global prices for a number of strategic commodities, including gold, being higher than forecast, as well as improved financial performance of enterprises due to lower costs.
Personal income tax generated 24 trillion soums, up 18.5% from a year earlier. The increase was attributed to higher wages, job creation and the legalization of informal employment.
VAT revenues amounted to around 43.5 trillion soums, increasing by 21% amid growth in turnover and the number of taxpayers. At the same time, more than 12 trillion soums in VAT was refunded to taxpayers. Excise tax revenues grew by around 12% to 11.4 trillion soums, while property and land taxes amounted to 11 trillion soums, up 25.5%.
State budget expenditures amounted to almost 206 trillion soums in the first six months, around 32 trillion soums more than a year earlier. About 106 trillion soums, or 51.5% of total expenditures, was allocated to the social sector.
Education accounted for 49.5 trillion soums, including more than 34 trillion soums for general secondary education. More than 2 trillion soums was allocated for the construction, reconstruction, capital repairs and equipment of schools. The number of private schools reached 551.
More than 2 trillion soums in subsidies was allocated to support non-state preschool institutions established under public-private partnerships. Preschool education coverage among children aged three to six reached 78.4%.
According to Kuchkarov, higher education coverage has increased from 9% to 44% in recent years, while the number of students has grown from 270,000 to 1.6 million. In the first half of the year, 6.3 trillion soums was allocated to secondary specialized, vocational and higher education, including 2.1 trillion soums for vocational education and 3.6 trillion soums for higher education.
State universities have 386 student dormitories with a total capacity of more than 156,000 places. They accommodate 57% of students in need of housing. A total of 182 billion soums was allocated for dormitory construction, support for private partners and compensation for rental expenses.
Healthcare expenditures amounted to almost 23 trillion soums, 2.8 trillion soums more than in the first half of 2025.
Of this amount, 16.3 trillion soums was allocated to salaries of medical workers and social tax, while around 1.7 trillion soums was allocated to medicines.
The State Health Insurance Fund signed contracts with 104 private medical organizations. A total of 165 billion soums was allocated for the treatment of 485,000 patients at these organizations. Some 229 billion soums was allocated for child vaccination, covering around 1.4 million children against 13 types of infectious diseases. A total of 716 billion soums was allocated for the construction and repair of 241 medical facilities.
More than 2 trillion soums was allocated for sports development in the first half of the year, with another nearly 116 billion soums allocated for the construction and repair of 14 facilities. In recent years, 1,774 sports grounds and more than 200 major sports facilities have been built in more than 1,000 mahallas, while the number of private sports clubs has reached around 4,000.
Around 7.3 trillion soums was allocated for benefits, financial assistance and compensation during the first half of the year. About 600,000 families received more than 1.8 trillion soums in child benefits and financial assistance. More than 480,000 people with disabilities received over 3 trillion soums in benefits.
Since the beginning of the year, 275,000 families, comprising around 1.2 million people, have been removed from the “social registry” after improvements in their official incomes and property status.
Since 1 January, a mechanism has been in place for paying maternity benefits based on insurance coverage periods and insurance contributions paid. In the first half of the year, more than 72,000 women received around 841 billion soums in such benefits. Under the new system, 12,000 women in the private sector received 180 billion soums.
During the first six months, more than 42,000 citizens received mortgage loans totaling 13 trillion soums. Around 8 trillion soums was financed from the budget. A total of 814 billion soums was allocated to subsidize down payments for 9,000 citizens and interest payments on previously issued loans for 91,000 people.
One trillion soums was allocated for infrastructure for 286 driver projects. Another nearly 4 trillion soums was allocated for roads, electricity, water and irrigation networks in 33 districts and 330 mahallas with “New Uzbekistan Appearance” status.
Nearly 3 trillion soums was earmarked for 37 challenging districts and 913 mahallas for programs to increase incomes, create jobs and reduce poverty. Local budgets received another 1.7 trillion soums for infrastructure in busy streets, roadside areas and tourist destinations.
More than 8 trillion soums was allocated to agriculture and water management, including around 3.1 trillion soums for the operation of pumping stations and electricity payments. A total of 2,900 km of irrigation networks was cleared and more than 3,000 hydraulic structures were repaired.
Electricity consumption by pumping stations decreased by 322 million kWh.
More than 1.1 trillion soums in subsidies was allocated to support cotton production and upgrade agricultural machinery, including 331 billion soums for farmers, 560 billion soums for cotton-textile clusters and 217 billion soums to purchase 711 units of modern machinery.
In the environmental sector, 274 billion soums was transferred to the relevant state fund and 84 billion soums to the “Yashil Makon” project. Green zones were created on 104 hectares and 183,000 seedlings were planted. Another 405 billion soums was allocated to the “Toza Havo” project in Tashkent.
A total of 837 billion soums was allocated for drinking water supply and sewerage, while 319 billion soums went to heating. Road projects under the investment program received 2.4 trillion soums, irrigation and land reclamation received more than 1 trillion soums, and engineering infrastructure for special economic and small industrial zones received 411 billion soums.
During the first season of the “Initiative Budget,” a co-financing mechanism was introduced, allowing a project to win without a vote if residents raised 50% of its cost. A total of 561 such projects were proposed, of which 16 became winners.
Under the “Deputy Initiative” mechanism, another 149 projects worth 239 billion soums were selected. As a result, 39 mahallas became winners for the first time, while another 24 projects were in challenging mahallas.
Overall, 2,192 projects worth 3.2 trillion soums were financed following the first season of the “Initiative Budget.”
Local budget revenues exceeded the forecast by 11.5% in the first half of the year, reaching around 40 trillion soums, while expenditures amounted to 62 trillion soums. Additional sources of revenue in the regions amounted to around 11 trillion soums, while transfers from the republican budget to local budgets totaled 18 trillion soums.
Following the discussion, the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis approved the report on the execution of the state budget and the budgets of state targeted funds for the first half of 2026.
