Cambodian Government Sets USD 9.35B Budget For 2025
Article Correction: We've edited the Current Expenditure and Capital Expenditure figures from billion riel to trillion riel.
The Cambodian government has drafted its budget for 2025 at KHR 37.95 billion (USD 9.35 billion), slightly higher than in 2024, but lower than in 2023, according to a release from the Council of Ministers on October 25, 2024. The government budget in 2024 was set at USD 9.1 billion but cutbacks have been made during the year, while in 2023 it was set at USD 9.5 billion.
The newly approved draft law on the 2025 budget is equivalent to 18.14 per cent of the country's expected GDP. The budget allocation is split as follows:
- Current Expenditure: USD 6.41 billion (KHR 26.05 trillion)
- Capital Expenditure: USD 2.92 billion (KHR 11.89 trillion)
Cambodia Economic Forecast For 2025
According to the Cambodian government's assessment of the medium-term public financial framework, the economy is projected to grow at a rate of 6.3 per cent in 2025, bringing the GDP to over KHR 209.1 trillion (around USD 51.3 billion), with per capita income expected to reach USD 2,924.
Cambodia’s expected economic growth in 2025 is supported by the growth of its key economic sectors such as: the industrial sector, which is projected to grow by 8.6 per cent; the service sector, which is projected to grow by 5.6 per cent; and the agriculture sector, which is projected to grow by 1.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, inflation in 2025 is projected to be around 2.5 per cent. The social affairs sector remains the government's top priority, according to the press release.
The statement added:
The 2025 budget will serve as an effective policy tool for the Royal Government to maintain, protect, and further strengthen the significant achievements Cambodia has made, as well as to continue laying the foundation for future development.
The budget expenditure priority for 2025 aims to meet the priorities and needs of ministries and institutions by aligning daily work with the policy objectives of these entities. This will also contribute to the implementation of the Cambodian government's overall priority policies, including:
- Institutional Capacity Building
- Human Capital Development
- Building and Maintaining Infrastructure
- Economic Diversification
The government stated that the 2025 budget will focus on creating added value in existing economic sectors and related sub-sectors, promoting investment in agriculture, preparing for the adoption of new technologies in the digital economy, and improving the quality of public services, especially in education, health, justice, and other essential services.
Additionally, it will focus on governance reform and institutional capacity building at both national and sub-national levels, along with strengthening social protection systems.
In 2023, Cambodia's economy grew at a rate of 5 per cent, slightly lower than in 2022 due to lower-than-expected growth in the garment, construction, and real estate sectors, as well as global and regional uncertainties. However, GDP per capita increased from USD 2,383 in 2022 to USD 2,520 in 2023, while annual inflation was around 2.1 per cent.
Overview Of Past National Budgets In Cambodia (2015-2022)
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cambodian Council of Ministers approved a draft budget for 2020 of USD 7.58 billion, which represented 26 per cent of GDP, and later approved USD 7.62 billion for 2021 and USD 8.013 billion for its expenditure in 2022.
The budgets for the preceding years were smaller:
- 2024: USD 9.1 billion
- 2023: USD 9.5 billion
- 2022: USD 8.013 billion
- 2021: USD 7.62 billion
- 2020: USD 7.58 billion
- 2019: USD 6.79 billion
- 2018: USD 6.02 billion
- 2017: USD 5.04 billion
- 2016: USD 4.3 billion
- 2015: USD 3.8 billion