Russia’s budget deficit hits $51.9B in first 10 months of 2025

Russia’s budget deficit hits $51.9B in first 10 months of 2025
ruble banknotes at a private company's office in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, December 17, 2014.
Reuters

Russia’s budget deficit reached 4.2 trillion rubles (around $51.9 billion) in the first ten months of 2025, driven by rising government spending, according to data from the Finance Ministry released on Tuesday.

The deficit was $53.1 billion higher than in the same period last year. During the first ten months, budget revenues increased slightly by 0.8% year-on-year to $369.3 billion, while expenditures rose 15.4% to $421.2 billion.

The Finance Ministry noted that non-oil and natural gas revenues amounted to $276.7 billion, while oil and gas revenues contributed $92.6 billion.

The budget deficit-to-GDP ratio currently stands at 1.6%, with projections suggesting it could reach 2.6% by the end of 2025.

The rise in spending has been partly driven by defence-related expenditures since the start of the war in Ukraine in early 2022. Sanctions on Russia’s energy sector have also reduced the country’s access to European oil and gas markets, impacting overall revenues.

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