The State Budget for 2027 proposes total spending of MVR 59.7 billion. The Government presents it as the foundation for the Maldives to attain developed-nation status by 2040, a goal set by President Mohamed Muizzu. This page explains the numbers from the top: first one picture, then the detail. Select any block, bar or underlined term to read more.
“The principal objective of the Budget proposed for 2027 is to lay the foundations of the policies that must be implemented for the Maldives to become a developed nation by 2040, while maintaining macroeconomic stability and ensuring fiscal and debt sustainability.”
Minister of Finance Hassan Zareer, 2027 Budget Statement to the People’s Majlis (GMM translation)
Amounts are in Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR) million unless stated. 1 billion (bn) = 1,000 million. Years: 2025 Actual, 2026 Revised, 2027 Budget, 2028 and 2029 Projection. The budget is a proposal until the People’s Majlis approves it.
Section 1
The budget in one picture
Read from left to right. Money comes in on the left. Money goes out on the right. Each side totals MVR 59.7 billion (59,704.4 million). The left side includes : the money the State must raise because revenue is lower than planned spending. Select any block for a plain-language explanation.
Money inMoney out
→
In plain wordsEach block is drawn to its amount, so a taller block is more money. The left side is where the money comes from; the right side is where it goes.
What it means for the budgetThe left side totals MVR 59.7 billion (59,704.4 million), and so does the right side.
Technical definitionBlock heights follow the amounts. The two smallest blocks are enlarged so the text fits. Financing (MVR 16,546.3 million) is total budget minus revenue and grants, and “Investments, on-lending” is capital disbursements 1,691.9 plus loan disbursements 950.0: both GMM calculation
Key terms in this picture
Debt repayment by year
In plain wordsA large repayment in one year leaves less to repay the next — which is what happens between 2026 and 2027.
What it means for the budgetRepayment is MVR 11,747.1 million in 2026 Revised and 4,461.9 million in 2027, and the Minister described 2026 as a record year for repayment.
Technical definitionThe Ministry brief shows (repayment of loan principal, a financing item and not an expense) as follows, in MVR million.
“This is an important step taken by the Government to reduce the debt burden on future generations.”
Minister of Finance Hassan Zareer, 2027 Budget Statement to the People’s Majlis (GMM translation)
Section 2
Where the money comes from
The State receives MVR 43,158.1 million in revenue and grants in 2027, which is 3.4% more than in 2026 (Revised). is 33,639.9 million; the brief states that 78% of total revenue is tax revenue. The Minister stated that no tax will be increased for the purpose of raising revenue. Instead, the Government plans to improve how existing taxes are collected.
“…no tax levied by the State will be increased for the purpose of raising revenue in the coming year.”
Minister of Finance Hassan Zareer, 2027 Budget Statement to the People’s Majlis (GMM translation)
Year
Show
Revenue and grants, 2025 to 2029
In plain wordsEach column is one year of revenue, split by source. A taller column means more money came in.
What it means for the budgetThe 2027 column is MVR 43,158.1 million of revenue and grants.
Technical definitionStacked columns of tax revenue, non-tax revenue and grants, in MVR billion. Select a column to change the year above. 2025 is Actual, 2026 Revised, 2027 Budget, 2028 and 2029 Projection.
Show chart data as a table
Section 3
Where the money goes
The 2027 Budget of MVR 59,704.4 million can be read in two ways. groups spending by its purpose (for example health or education). The economic view groups it by type (for example salaries or construction). Both views total the same amount. Select a bar to see what a category pays for.
“Accordingly, MVR 8.2 billion has been allocated under the PSIP for development projects to be carried out in different parts of the Maldives alone. The aim of next year’s budget is to complete 70 percent of the projects already started.”
Minister of Finance Hassan Zareer, 2027 Budget Statement to the People’s Majlis (GMM translation)
View
Type
Section 4
The path to 2040
The Government states that the 2027 Budget lays the foundation for developed-nation status by 2040. The Ministry brief gives figures to 2029 only, so the charts show the first part of that path. The widens in 2027, then narrows each year. The 2027 widening coincides with higher : capital expenditure rises by MVR 3,079.7 million from 2026 while the deficit widens by 1,867.2 million GMM calculation.
Deficit and primary balance, % of GDP
In plain wordsThe zero line marks revenue equal to spending. Below it is a deficit; above it, a surplus.
What it means for the budgetIn 2027 the overall balance is -7.3% of GDP and the primary balance is -3.4%, and in 2029 the primary balance is above zero (0.9%).
Technical definitionBelow the zero line is a deficit and above it is a surplus. Overall balance = revenue and grants minus total expenditure (printed in the brief). The = overall balance excluding interest payments, calculated from printed MVR amounts and GMM calculation
Show chart data as a table
Public debt, % of GDP
In plain wordsDebt is measured against a year of GDP, so the lines weigh it against the size of the economy. A lower line is a lighter load.
What it means for the budgetIncluding guaranteed debt the ratio is 124.5% in 2027 and 112.9% in 2029, and direct government debt is 117.0% in 2027.
Technical definitionDebt-to-GDP = outstanding debt at year end divided by nominal GDP. The vertical axis starts at 100%, not at zero. Debt including guaranteed: printed in the brief. Direct government debt: external plus domestic debt divided by nominal GDP GMM calculation
Show chart data as a table
Two debt measures, one set of data
In plain wordsDebt can be counted as the State’s own borrowing alone, or together with the debts it has guaranteed for others. Both counts are valid; they give different totals.
What it means for the budgetIn 2027 the difference is the guaranteed debt of MVR 9,774.0 million (7.5% of GDP).
Technical definitionThe Ministry brief reports including (a contingent liability): 124.5% in 2027 and 112.9% in 2029. The Minister’s speech gives : 117% in 2027, 116.3% in 2028 and a target of 107.9% in 2029. GMM calculated the direct series from the brief and it matches the speech. The two should not be mixed in one comparison.
Reading the balances
In plain wordsA balance needs its sign: the same figure can be a deficit or a surplus. The speech gives the size; the brief gives the sign.
What it means for the budgetThe speech states the primary balance as 2.5% of GDP in 2026 and 3.4% in 2027, and the brief prints both as deficits; the brief projects the overall deficit at 4.5% of GDP in 2028, within the Minister’s aim of 5% by the end of 2028.
Technical definitionPrimary balance = overall balance excluding interest payments. A negative value is a deficit and a positive value is a surplus. The brief projects a primary surplus of MVR 1,257.6 million (0.9% of GDP) in 2029.
“The main purpose of all this work is to reduce the State’s overall balance deficit to 5 percent of GDP by the end of 2028.”
Minister of Finance Hassan Zareer, 2027 Budget Statement to the People’s Majlis (GMM translation)
Section 5
What changes for you
These are the measures in the Budget Statement that affect households and businesses. Where the Ministry brief gives a related figure, it is shown with its scope, because the speech and the brief sometimes group items differently.
GST registration threshold
MVR 1 million to MVR 1.5 million
In plain wordsA business whose yearly revenue is below a set amount need not register to collect this sales tax. That amount is being raised, so fewer small businesses have to.
What it means for the budgetFrom 1 January 2027 the limit rises from MVR 1 million to MVR 1.5 million, and GST remains the largest tax at MVR 18,375.6 million in 2027 (brief).
Technical definitionGST registration threshold: the annual revenue above which a business must register for GST, charge it and pay it to the State.
Also in the StatementPresident Mohamed Muizzu announced the decision to ease tax compliance for small and medium-sized businesses.
Source: 2027 Budget Statement; Ministry brief
No tax increases to raise revenue
Better collection, not higher rates
In plain wordsRates stay where they are; the aim is to collect more of the tax already owed.
What it means for the budgetThe Budget expects tax revenue of MVR 33,639.9 million, which is 78% of total revenue, without any tax increase for the purpose of raising revenue.
Technical definitionRevenue is to grow through tax administration and compliance, not through higher rates: wider use of the Maldives Guest Information System, a new e-invoicing system, and transfer of the fiscal mandate of the Maldives Customs Service to the Ministry of Finance, with amendments to tax laws.
Source: 2027 Budget Statement
Housing
MVR 3.0 billion
In plain wordsFor people who own land but need a loan to build on it, the State adds capital to a special loan scheme.
What it means for the budgetHousing receives MVR 3.0 billion, and it includes MVR 750 million of equity for the special loan scheme for first-time home buyers and people who wish to build on land they own.
Technical definitionEquity is capital that the State places in an entity, here the loan scheme; it is a financial asset. Housing and community amenities is COFOG function 06.
Also in the StatementThe budget also speeds up basic water and sewerage services on vacant island land.
Brief, housing and community amenities function: MVR 2,973.6 million (scope may differ)
Health
MVR 10.2 billion
In plain wordsThe State plans to buy medicines and equipment centrally, in one place, rather than hospital by hospital.
What it means for the budgetThe Budget gives health MVR 10.2 billion.
Technical definitionHealth is COFOG function 07: medical products and equipment, outpatient and hospital services, and public health services.
Also in the StatementPlans include a Maldives Tertiary Hospitals Group, central purchasing of medical consumables and equipment, medicine purchasing through State Pharma, and wider regional services such as MRI, CT, dental and maternity care.
Brief, health function total: MVR 10,513.1 million, which also includes 281.3 of “other” outlays
Education
MVR 136.3 million for the free degree programme
In plain wordsThe State funds classrooms and facilities, a free first-degree programme, and loans for higher study.
What it means for the budgetThe Budget gives MVR 136.3 million to the free degree programme, and more than MVR 651 million is set for student loans for higher education.
Technical definitionEducation is COFOG function 09: pre-primary, primary, secondary and tertiary education, and services that support education.
Also in the StatementThe budget also funds classrooms, multipurpose halls, laboratories, and facilities for children with disabilities.
Brief, education function total: MVR 6,795.6 million
Energy
250 MW of solar power with storage
In plain wordsA developer builds and runs the solar plant, and the State buys the power at a price fixed for years. More solar means less diesel burned.
What it means for the budgetThe plan is 250 MW of solar power with storage, expected to reduce fuel purchases by more than 100 million litres a year, and the fuel subsidy is expected to be MVR 3.8 billion in 2026 and MVR 3.2 billion in 2027.
Technical definitionThe project uses a : a long-term contract in which a developer builds and operates the plant and the buyer agrees to buy the electricity at an agreed price. The fuel subsidy is a recurrent expense.
Also in the StatementThe pledge is 33% renewable energy by 2028.
Source: 2027 Budget Statement. The brief does not print the fuel subsidy separately.
Port and bridge
Thilafushi port, target before 11 November 2027
In plain wordsA larger, deeper port lets bigger ships berth and cuts the days vessels wait to unload.
What it means for the budgetThe Thilafushi port is targeted before 11 November 2027, and the vessel unloading wait is to fall from 9 to 14 days to less than 3 days.
Technical definitionA port and a bridge are capital projects: spending to build fixed assets that serve the economy for many years.
Also in the StatementArea: 5 to 60 hectares. Quay wall: 101 to 375 metres. Depth: 9.7 to 14.6 metres. Capacity: 80,000 to 390,000 containers a year. The Thilamalé Bridge is targeted for use by the end of 2027.
Source: 2027 Budget Statement
The Budget Statement also covers tourism (2027 as Visit Maldives Year, with a target of 2.5 million tourists), the Addu SME Trade Facilitation Zone, and funding for small business start-ups.