UAE government spending on social benefits reached 17% in 2018

Media IN ABU DHABI, 8th July, 2019 (WAM)

According to statistics from the Ministry of Finance, the UAE’s total spending on social benefits in 2018 amounted to AED65.74 billion, accounting for 16.8 percent of government spending.

This figure highlights the importance of social development to the agendas of the federal government and local governments, in line with the UAE Vision 2021 and the country’s strategic plans.

The UAE Vision 2021 aims to make the country among the world’s best countries by the golden jubilee of its establishment. To achieve this goal, the vision is divided into six national pillars representing key sectors.

Official statistics also show that spending on social benefits increased last year by AED10.535 billion, an annual rise of 7.7 percent compared to the same quarter of 2017.

In the second quarter of 2018, spending on social benefits reached AED22.168 billion compared to AED10 billion during the same period in the previous year, an increase of 121 percent.

In the third quarter of 2018, spending on social benefits reached AED14.77 billion, an increase of 43.4 percent compared to 2017 while during the last quarter of the same year, spending amounted to AED18.273 billion, a 67 percent increase.