Figures from the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) show that state expenditure up to the end of June this year has increased to MVR 1.3 billion.
According to MMA's quarterly report, state expenditure has increased by 44 percent compared to last year.
Expenditure rose so significantly due to higher administrative costs of the state and an increase in recurrent expenditure. In this regard, recurrent expenditure saw an increase of MVR 1.1 billion.
During that period, capital expenditure also increased in addition to recurrent expenditure. As such, statistics show that capital expenditure rose by MVR 190 million.
Despite the increase in state expenditure, there was no significant change in the national debt. According to the government's latest statistics, state debt stood at MVR 135 billion up to the first quarter of this year. That is 110 percent relative to the Maldives' Gross Domestic Product (GDP). At the end of last year, state debt stood at 113 percent relative to GDP.
Although the debt relative to the Maldives' GDP decreased, there was no major change in the total debt. The debt increased due to a rise in domestic debt or the amount of treasury bills and bonds purchased.
While state expenditure increased, revenue also rose by 15 percent. Accordingly, state revenue for that period this year was MVR 457 million higher than the revenue received up to the end of June last year.
