Russia's 2025 Budget Deficit Hits 2.6% of GDP, Highest Since 2020

Overview of Russia's Budget Deficit

MOSCOW, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Russia ran a budget deficit of 5.6 trillion roubles ($72.12 billion), or 2.6% of GDP, in 2025, the Finance Ministry said on Monday, the highest deficit since 2020 as a percentage of GDP and the highest since 2006 in rouble terms.

Fiscal Deficit Trends

Russia had a fiscal deficit equal to 1.7% of GDP in 2024. In 2025, the government raised the deficit target twice from the initially targeted 1.2 trillion roubles, or 0.5% of GDP, due to shrinking energy revenues and a strong rouble.

Revenue and Spending Analysis

Budget revenues amounted to 37.28 trillion roubles, down by 7.5% from the initial target, due to a 24% fall in oil and gas revenues, which hit the lowest level since 2020, despite corporate profit and personal income tax hikes.

Government Measures to Address Deficit

Budget spending, which amounted to 42.93 trillion roubles, rose 6.8% from 2024 and was 3.5% higher than the initial budget plan.

The government raised the value-added tax to keep this year's deficit at 1.6% of GDP, but with prices for Russian oil below the 2026 average of $59 per barrel used in the budget calculations, analysts doubt the government's ability to stay on target.

($1 = 77.6455 roubles)

(Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; Writing by Gleb Bryanski; Editing by Susan Fenton)