Kuwait’s salary expenditure totals KD 64.56 billion over five years
Statistics reveal that salaries account for approximately 57% of the budget, which totaled KD 112.94 billion, placing a significant burden on it.
• Salaries in Kuwait for the fiscal year 2019/2020 represented about KD 11.96 billion, or 56.6% of the total budget of KD 21.14 billion.
The “salaries and related expenses” category consistently represents the largest burden on the state’s general budget. It remains a subject of controversy due to its steady increases, which are not matched by overall revenue growth. Instead, the budget remains heavily dependent on fluctuations in oil prices, global supply and demand, and geopolitical factors that drive up the cost of a barrel, the Al Jarida newspaper reports.
The phrase ‘and similar’ has sparked controversy in the budget classification between the two authorities by including it under the item of salaries. This is because it is not considered part of employee salaries (“employee compensation”).
The Ministry of Finance clarified in one of its correspondences that “employee compensation represents the total cash and in-kind rewards due to be paid to the employee in return for the work performed during the relevant period (Chapter One only), while salaries and similar include employee compensation—ministries and government departments (Chapter One), employee compensation—judicial affairs (Chapter Eight), total employee compensation—affiliated entities (Chapter Six), total salaries of independent institutions (funded) (Chapter Six), the contribution of the General Treasury for Social Insurance (Chapter Six), support for national employment in the non-governmental sector (Chapter Seven), and the last of which is social care, Ministry of Social Affairs—Council of Ministers (Chapter Seven).”
According to statistics prepared by Al-Jarida newspaper from the final accounts for five fiscal years (2019/2020 – 2023/2024), the item “salaries and the like” amounted to KD 64.56 billion over five years, constituting 57.16% of the total budget for that period, which totaled KD 112.94 billion.
Specifically, salaries for the fiscal year 2019/2020 represented about KD 11.96 billion, or 56.6% of the total budget of KD 21.14 billion.
In the fiscal year 2020/2021, the value of the same item amounted to KD 11.85 billion, or 55.7% of the total budget of KD 21.29 billion. Despite a decrease of about 1%, for the first time, the salaries exceeded the oil revenue item, which amounted to KD 8.79 billion at the time, due to the global economic shutdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the fiscal year 2021/2022, the salaries amounted to about KD 13.24 billion, constituting 57.7% of the total budget, with an increase in salaries over the previous year by 11.73%. The expenditures for the item amounted to KD 12.97 billion, making up 58% of the total budget of KD 22.36 billion, reflecting a 2% decrease compared to the previous year.
In the final account for the fiscal year 2023/2024, the item “salaries and the like” reached KD 14.5 billion, accounting for 57.7% of a budget of KD 25.2 billion, marking a 12% increase over the previous year.
