State budget revenue rose by 63 trillion soums in the first half of 2026, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Jamshid Kuchkarov told senators at a Senate session Tuesday.
The minister presented senators with a report on the six-month execution of the state budget. According to the report, GDP grew 8.5 percent in January-June, up from 7.2 percent in the same period of 2025.
Over the first six months of the year, market services grew 16.9 percent, construction 13.8 percent, industry 8 percent, and agriculture 4.7 percent.
"During the reporting period, real household income grew 9.2 percent, retail turnover grew 20.2 percent, and fixed capital investment grew 17.5 percent. Excluding gold, export volume grew 31.6 percent, while lending to the economy grew 11.8 percent. These were among the key drivers behind our economic growth," the minister said.
Annual inflation stood at 6.4 percent during the reporting period, down 2.3 percentage points from 2025.
Kuchkarov reported that state budget revenue reached 207 trillion soums over the half-year — nearly 63 trillion soums, or 43.8 percent, more than in the same period of 2025.
"Of this revenue, 149 trillion soums, or 72 percent, was generated by the Tax Committee, and 41 trillion soums, or 20 percent, by the Customs Committee. Strong economic activity, an expanding tax base, and improvements to tax and customs administration have all contributed to steady growth in budget revenue," the minister said.
Corporate profit tax revenue reached 51 trillion soums, up 2.3-fold from the same period in 2025. Officials said this growth was driven largely by rising global gold and copper prices, as well as improved financial results at enterprises that had cut production costs.
"Thanks to wage growth, job creation, and efforts to formalize informal employment, personal income tax revenue rose 18.5 percent to 24 trillion soums. As trade volumes expanded and the number of VAT payers increased, VAT revenue reached 43.5 trillion soums, up 21 percent from the same period last year," the deputy prime minister said.
Excise tax revenue, meanwhile, rose 12.6 percent year-on-year to a total of 11.4 trillion soums. Property and land tax collections came to 11 trillion soums, up 25.5 percent from the same period in 2025.
Where the money went
Kuchkarov said state budget spending totaled 206 trillion soums in the first half of 2026 — 32 trillion soums, or 18.4 percent, more than in the same period of 2025.
"Spending on the social sector amounted to 106 trillion soums, or 51.5 percent of total expenditure. Of that, 49.5 trillion soums was contributed to education, 5.4 trillion soums more than in the same period last year," the minister said.
More than 2 trillion soums in subsidies were contributed over the half-year to private kindergartens operating under public-private partnerships. As a result, 815 new private kindergartens opened, creating more than 42,000 new places. Separately, 406 billion soums was spent on construction and renovation work at 150 kindergartens.
"During the reporting period, 78.4 percent of children aged 3 to 6 nationwide were enrolled in preschool education. More than 34 trillion soums was contributed to general secondary education, 3.2 trillion soums more than in the same period last year. Of that, 433 billion soums went toward sector development programs, and more than 2 trillion soums was spent on building new schools, reconstruction, and full-scale renovation and equipping of facilities. Efforts to expand private-sector involvement in education have also pushed the number of private schools nationwide to 551," the deputy prime minister said.
A total of 7.3 trillion soums was contributed over the six months to pensions, financial assistance, and compensation payments — 800 billion soums more than in the same period of 2025.
Kuchkarov said 13.2 trillion soums in total was spent during the first cycle of the "Citizen's Budget" initiative in 2026, funding 2,192 projects nationwide.
According to forecasts, GDP is expected to grow by roughly 8.1 percent this year, compared with 7.7 percent growth in 2025. Officials also project that per capita GDP will exceed $5,000 by 2027.
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