Jordan Sets 5.6% Growth Target in 2027 Budget With 18% Capital Spending Rise

Jordan's cabinet approved a draft 2027 budget of 13.7 billion dinars ($19.3 billion) on Nov. 8, setting a nominal GDP growth target of 5.6% while raising capital spending 18% to 1.7 billion dinars ($2.4 billion).

Prime Minister Jafar Hassan chaired the meeting. The draft General Budget Law now goes to the House of Representatives for approval before the end of the year under the constitutional process.

The capital allocation is about 18% above the revised 2026 figure. Part of the increase is intended to make up for a slowdown in capital spending in 2026 caused by regional disruptions. The investment budget directs money to health, education, public works, water infrastructure and municipal development, and includes projects to improve infrastructure and services in the governorates.

Two large programmes keep receiving funds. The National Water Carrier Project and development of the Risha gas field are meant to strengthen water security, raise domestic energy production and cut reliance on imports.

Current expenditure is projected to rise 6.4% to 12 billion dinars ($16.9 billion). Those allocations cover government operating costs, social protection and national security. The draft also sets aside about 260 million dinars ($367 million) for a monthly allowance of 30 dinars ($42) for civil and military public-sector employees and pensioners who earn less than 600 dinars ($846) a month. Payments are due to begin at the start of 2027.

On the revenue side, the government projects domestic receipts of 10.9 billion dinars ($15.4 billion), up about 11% from revised 2026 estimates. It plans to collect more through stronger tax and customs compliance and measures against evasion, wider use of a national electronic invoicing system, and artificial intelligence in tax auditing and analysis. The measures are meant to improve collection without introducing new taxes or raising existing rates.

The plan puts the overall deficit after grants at 2 billion dinars ($2.82 billion), down from 2.1 billion dinars ($2.96 billion) in 2026. The primary deficit, which excludes interest payments on public debt, is targeted at 450 million dinars ($635 million), compared with 650 million dinars ($917 million) a year earlier.

The fiscal package sits within the second executive programme of the Economic Modernization Vision and the Public Sector Modernization Roadmap. Its stated aims include a better business environment, more domestic and foreign investment, stronger public finances and sustainable growth.

The International Monetary Fund projected real GDP growth of 2.7% in 2026 and 3.1% in 2027 in its June 2026 review. It expected activity to strengthen in 2027 as major investment projects launch, but warned that elevated regional tensions and lingering conflict effects could weigh on the outlook. The fund called for fiscal discipline while protecting vulnerable households and sustaining development spending, and recommended more efficient spending, stronger revenue administration and gradual fiscal consolidation.

The 5.6% target is nominal; the IMF figures are real, so they measure different things.

The revenue plan carries much of the budget's weight. With no new taxes or rate increases, the deficit reduction depends on compliance measures and the electronic invoicing and auditing tools producing the projected gains. That makes administrative execution as important as the spending allocations themselves.