Russia's 2024 budget deficit estimated at 1.7 pct of GDP

MOSCOW, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Russia's budget deficit in 2024 amounted to approximately 1.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or 3.485 trillion rubles (34.5 billion U.S. dollars), the Russian Ministry of Finance announced on Tuesday.

Russia's non-oil and gas deficit stood at around 7.3 percent of GDP, the ministry said in a report.

Preliminary estimates indicate that federal budget revenues for 2024 reached 36.707 trillion rubles (363.4 billion dollars), marking a 26 percent increase compared to 2023. A steady positive trend was observed in the inflow of key non-oil and gas revenues, with a year-on-year growth of 26 percent.

Federal budget expenditures for 2024 increased by 24.2 percent year-on-year to 40.192 trillion rubles (397.8 billion dollars) in 2024.

The finance ministry said that the increase in spending at the end of 2024 funded by additional oil and gas revenues involved some expenses budgeted for 2025.

"This will ensure increased flexibility in managing the structure of maximum budget allocations in the current year," the ministry said.