Qatar’s quarterly deficit widens to $6.26 billion as revenues drop 33%

The latest:

Qatar’s budget deficit widened 7.5% quarter-on-quarter to 22.8 billion riyals ($6.26 billion) in the third quarter of 2026, as revenues contracted far faster than spending. Total revenues reached 17.1 billion riyals ($4.7 billion) against expenditures of 39.9 billion riyals ($10.96 billion), according to Ministry of Finance data carried by the Qatar News Agency.

Details:

• The revenue slide: Revenues fell 33.2% from the second quarter, based on calculations drawn from the published quarterly data. Qatar had booked 25.6 billion riyals ($7.03 billion) in revenues during the second quarter, meaning more than a third of the quarterly intake disappeared in three months.
• Spending held up: Expenditures declined only 14.7% over the same period, from 46.8 billion riyals ($12.86 billion) in the second quarter to 39.9 billion riyals. That gap between the two rates of decline is what drove the deficit higher despite lower overall outlays.
• Oil versus non-oil: Third-quarter revenues split into 10.748 billion riyals ($2.95 billion) from oil and 6.327 billion riyals ($1.74 billion) from non-oil sources, per ministry data. Hydrocarbon income accounted for roughly 63% of the quarter’s total receipts.
• Where the money went: Salaries and wages absorbed 16.85 billion riyals ($4.63 billion), the single largest expenditure line, followed by current spending at 15.437 billion riyals ($4.24 billion). Together the two items consumed more than 80% of total quarterly expenditure.
• Capital outlays: Major capital expenditure came in at 6.878 billion riyals ($1.89 billion), while minor capital spending totaled 706 million riyals ($194 million). The two lines combined fell short of half the quarter’s salary bill.
• Nine-month total: Cumulative deficits for the first nine months reach about 54.3 billion riyals ($14.92 billion), based on summing the three quarters. The first quarter closed at 10.3 billion riyals ($2.83 billion) and the second at 21.2 billion riyals ($5.82 billion).
• Past the full-year plan: The nine-month shortfall exceeds twice the 21.8 billion riyals ($5.99 billion) deficit Qatar had projected for all of 2026 in its original annual budget, with one quarter of the fiscal year still outstanding.
• The original assumptions: The Ministry of Finance built the 2026 budget on expected revenues of 199 billion riyals ($54.67 billion), up 1% from 2025, and spending of 220.8 billion riyals ($60.66 billion), up 5%. Revenue estimates assumed an average oil price of $55 a barrel.
• Financing plan: The ministry said when it announced the budget that the projected deficit would be covered through domestic and external debt instruments, depending on financing needs and developments in debt markets. It did not set out a borrowing schedule.

Between the lines:

The deficit is being driven by the revenue side rather than new spending: outlays actually fell quarter-on-quarter, but receipts fell twice as fast. With oil revenues supplying the bulk of the quarter’s income and the annual budget anchored to a $55 barrel, the gap between the plan and the nine-month outturn points back to that assumption.

What’s next

Fourth-quarter Ministry of Finance data will show whether the full-year deficit settles near three times the original 21.8 billion riyal projection, and whether Doha turns to the domestic and external debt issuance flagged in the budget.