Sudan’s Cabinet approved on 30 December an emergency draft budget for the 2026 fiscal year, projecting 9% economic growth despite the ongoing conflict since 15 April 2023. The budget was endorsed during a session in Port Sudan, chaired by Prime Minister Kamil Idris, who described the plan as exceptional under the prevailing circumstances.
The fiscal framework aims to reduce average inflation to 65% in 2026 and focuses on tightening expenditure controls, improving public resource management, and boosting revenues. Finance Minister Gibril Ibrahim said the budget prioritizes domestic resource mobilization and broadening the revenue base without introducing new taxes.
Key provisions include improvements in wages, salaries and pensions, the creation of entry-level civil service jobs, and full payment of health insurance and pension entitlements. The plan also seeks to expand healthcare coverage and encourage local medical treatment.
Significant allocations are earmarked for security spending, including support for the military, while safeguarding essential services such as water, electricity, health and education, particularly in conflict-affected states. The budget also provides for the return of displaced citizens, rehabilitation of federal ministry headquarters, and revenue transfers to states based on actual collections.
Additional priorities include assistance for displaced people and refugees, investment in technical and vocational education, rehabilitation of the industrial sector, and support for small and medium-sized enterprises. Ibrahim noted that the 2026 budget builds on reforms launched in 2025, a year in which public revenues reportedly reached 147% of targets.
The plan further advances fiscal digitalization through electronic revenue collection systems and maintains funding for agriculture, including the Gezira Scheme, alongside support for the rehabilitation of Khartoum airport.
