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The Maldivian government received MVR 499 million in grants during the first eight months of 2026, exceeding the amount budgeted for the entire year.
Mariyam Adheela
Male’: The government received MVR 499 million in grants during the first eight months of this year, surpassing the MVR 373 million allocated as grant revenue in the annual budget, according to Finance Ministry data.
The latest Weekly Fiscal Development Report shows that grant receipts through August have already exceeded the government’s full year projection by MVR 126 million.
The amount is also significantly higher than the MVR 252.4 million received as grants during the corresponding period last year, marking an increase of about 97.7 percent.
Overall government revenue, including grants, reached MVR 28.7 billion during the period, representing a 6.2 percent increase compared with the same period in 2025.
Tax collections remained the main contributor to the increase in government revenue, rising from MVR 20.61 billion last year to MVR 22.35 billion during the first eight months of 2026, an 8.5 percent increase.
Government expenditure reached MVR 30.86 billion, up 17 percent from the MVR 26.38 billion spent during the same period last year. Recurrent spending rose 18.6 percent to MVR 26.98 billion, while capital expenditure increased 6.9 percent to MVR 3.88 billion.
Excluding debt and interest payments, the government recorded a primary surplus of MVR 1.27 billion from January through August, down 68.6 percent from the MVR 4.04 billion surplus recorded during the same period last year. Including debt and interest costs, the budget recorded a deficit of MVR 2.13 billion, compared with a surplus of MVR 658.8 million in the corresponding period of 2025.
