The state revenue exclusive of foreign grants registered an increment of 131% in April 2021, reports Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA).
According to the country’s central bank, in April the total revenue of state increased to MVR870.7 million in comparison with the same month of 2020 – owing to the surge in tax revenue following by the bump of collections from non-tax revenue.
Moreover, tax revenue increased by MVR708.7 million while non-tax revenue increased by MVR161.7 million.
On the other hand, total expenditure exclusive of amortization increased by 8% in the review month which translates to MVR161.2 million, when compared with the corresponding month of last year.
Furthermore, this increase in expenditure stemmed from a substantial growth in the state’s recurrent expenditures which surged by MVR371.7 million. However, capital expenditure declined by MVR210.5 million during the review month.
Meanwhile, the stock of total government debt excluding the government guaranteed debt amounted to MVR68.3 billion – based on the latest available data – at the end of the first quarter of 2021.
The figure reflects a 3% increase from the total government debt figure in the last quarter of 2020.
However, the total government debt as a percentage of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) decreased to 103% at the end of Q1-2021 from 115% in Q4-2020 with the increase of government debt primarily driven by domestic debt during this period.