A report from the Ministry of Finance and Planning reads that state expenses have been kept in line without supplementing the state budget for the first time in five years.
According to the ministry's 2025 Budget Outcome Statement, the fiscal year for 2025 ended with state expenses having been kept within the budget that was passed by the Parliament.
The budget has been supplemented every year since 2021, with the report stating that this is the first time expenses have been kept within a budget passed by the Parliament in five years.
As per the report, the main priority in enforcing last year's budget was to improve the state's financial situation, keep debt at a sustainable level and to strengthen foreign currency reserves.
Along with that, while policies have been designed to increase the inflow of foreign currency, the ministry has also given special attention to reduce the negative lifestyle effects caused by steps taken toward financial amendments, and in maintaining social security services and subsidies.
The report reads that the state has reduced expenditure by strengthening control regarding budget enforcement and due to the changes brought about to the operational regulations surrounding PSIP projects.
As a result, expenses in 2025 reached MVR 44.2 billion, with the estimated total expenditure being MVR 49.2 billion. This is an MVR 5 billion reduction compared to the budget.
While state expenses were within the Parliament's budget that was passed, the report states that the revenue for 2025 has also seen an increase compared to the estimated amount.
Last year's budget estimated that there would be MVR 39.8 billion in revenue, with the end of the fiscal year seeing a total of MVR 39.9 billion in revenue and free aid. This is an increase of MVR 74.4 million when looking at the estimate.
While state revenue is mainly built on tourism, the revenue has seen an increase during a time when tourist numbers had dropped below the estimated figures.
2025 was estimated to see 2,248,120 tourists travel to Maldives, with 2,246,516 tourists having spent their vacation in Maldives during the year. Even though this is a 0.1 percent drop compared to the estimated number, the report highlighted that there was an increase in bed nights by tourists beyond the estimate.
Due to a reduction in expenses and an increase in revenue, the state fiscal deficit in 2025 has seen a reduction beyond the estimate as well.
Estimates showed that there would have been an overall deficit of MVR 9.4 billion in the budget, with it having been reduced to MVR 4.4 billion.
This is an MVR 5 billion decrease from the budget estimates. When taking the GDP into account, this is a year-on-year reduction of 6.3 percentage points.
With that, 2025 has become the year that has had the lowest recorded fiscal deficit in the last six years. The report also reads that 2025 recorded the highest revenue from 2019 to 2025.
The ministry has highlighted the increase in non-tax revenue aided in increasing total revenue by a significant amount. This includes the fee for the resort rent payment window increase, the fee for plot sales and changes, and work permit fees.
The ministry's report states that the government's total debt until 2025 was at MVR 154.9 billion. As this is 129.8 percent relative to the GDP, debt payments saw a total of MVR 10.1 billion last year.
The ministry said that these results are because of the steps that were taken to reduce expenses and the successful enforcement of the policies surrounding revenue increases. Due to this, the ministry said that trust has grown in the budget, with pressure on state finances having reduced as well.
