UAE Cabinet Approves 292.5 Billion Dirham Federal Budget for 2027 to 2029, Up 28.3 Percent
The UAE Cabinet has approved a federal budget plan of 292.5 billion dirhams for 2027 to 2029, 28.3 percent more than the preceding three years, together with a 2027 budget of 90.1 billion dirhams, WAM reported on 12 October. The three annual budgets for 2024, 2025 and 2026 add up to 227.96 billion dirhams on the Ministry of Finance’s published figures, so the new plan adds 64.54 billion dirhams of approved budget allocations over three years on our calculation and lifts average annual federal outlay to 97.5 billion dirhams from 75.99 billion.
The Cabinet, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, approved both the three-year plan and the 2027 budget inside it. Sheikh Mohammed said “Our priorities are fixed and have not changed”, naming education, health, housing, social services and the quality of life and stability of citizens. His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, said the plan puts particular emphasis on harnessing artificial intelligence and financial data analytics, while Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, described it as a move to more strategic direction of spending over the medium term.
Education leads a social budget of 34.6 billion dirhams
Social Development and Pensions remains the largest sector in 2027 at 34.6 billion dirhams, or 38.4 percent of the budget, up from a 37.5 percent share in 2026 on our calculation. Public and university education takes 18.8 percent of the whole budget, which works out at 16.9 billion dirhams on our calculation. That is more than half as much again as the 10.914 billion dirhams education received in the 2025 budget, when its share was 15.3 percent. Against 2026 the comparison runs the other way: education was given 19 percent of that year’s 92.4 billion dirham budget when it was announced on 27 October 2025, so on the published shares the 2027 education allocation is lower than in 2026, on our calculation.
Healthcare takes 6.7 percent of the 2027 budget, which places its allocation above the 5.745 billion dirhams of 2025 on our calculation. Against 2025, the social sector as a whole is 24.2 percent larger, rising from 27.859 billion dirhams to 34.6 billion. Against 2026 it is level: 34.63 billion then, 34.6 billion now.
Education leads the social development budget
| Programme | 2025 (AED bn) | 2025 share | 2027 share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public and university education | 10.914 | 15.3% | 18.8% |
| Healthcare | 5.745 | 8.0% | 6.7% |
| Pensions | 5.709 | 8.0% | 6.4% |
| Social affairs | 3.744 | 5.2% | 4.4% |
| Public services | 1.746 | 2.5% | 2.1% |
| Social Development and Pensions, total | 27.859 | 39.0% | 38.4% |
Shares are of the total federal budget in each year: 71.5 billion dirhams in 2025 and 90.1 billion dirhams in 2027. The 2027 sub-sector allocations were published as shares only. 2025 figures are the published budget allocations; 2027 shares are as approved by the Cabinet. The 2026 programme shares were reported in whole numbers, with education at 19 percent.
Government affairs and federal expenses lead the 2027 increases
Government Affairs receives 29.1 billion dirhams in 2027, or 32.3 percent of the budget, an increase of 2 billion dirhams or 7.4 percent on 2026 on our calculation. Federal Expenses rise to 17.8 billion dirhams, 19.7 percent of the total, from 12.665 billion, a gain of 40.5 percent. Infrastructure and Economic Resources gets 3 billion dirhams, or 3.4 percent of the budget, up from 2.625 billion in 2026. Together, Government Affairs and Federal Expenses account for 52 percent of the 2027 budget and are 17.9 percent larger than a year earlier.
Taken without financial investments, approved federal budget allocations rise to 84.5 billion dirhams in 2027 from 77.022 billion in 2026, an increase of 9.7 percent on our calculation, and those allocations make up 93.8 percent of the new budget. The total is 2.3 billion dirhams, or 2.5 percent, below the 92.4 billion dirhams approved for 2026. The difference sits in one line: the Financial Investments sector is set at 5.6 billion dirhams, against 15.378 billion in 2026 and 2.864 billion in 2025. That is still 95.5 percent above the 2025 allocation on our calculation.
Against earlier years, the 2027 budget is 26 percent above 2025’s 71.5 billion dirhams and 40.7 percent above 2024’s 64.06 billion on our calculation. The 92.4 billion dirhams of 2026 was approved as the largest federal budget ever.
Federal budget by sector, 2026 and 2027
| Sector | 2026 (AED bn) | 2027 (AED bn) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Development and Pensions | 34.630 | 34.6 | Level |
| Government Affairs | 27.102 | 29.1 | 7.4% |
| Federal Expenses | 12.665 | 17.8 | 40.5% |
| Financial Investments | 15.378 | 5.6 | -63.6% |
| Infrastructure and Economic Resources | 2.625 | 3 | Up |
| Total | 92.400 | 90.1 | -2.5% |
2026 sector figures are the published budget allocations (the 2026 budget labels the third line Other Federal Expenses); 2027 figures are as approved by the Cabinet on 12 October 2026. Changes are our calculation.
The plan implies an average of 101.2 billion dirhams a year after 2027
Subtracting the 2027 budget from the 292.5 billion dirham envelope leaves 202.4 billion dirhams for 2028 and 2029 combined. That is an average of 101.2 billion dirhams a year on our calculation, 9.5 percent above the 2026 record. The split between the two years was not published, so the figure is an average, not a forecast for either year.
The plan follows two years of growth in the annual budget: approved federal budget allocations rose 11.6 percent in 2025 and 29.2 percent in 2026 on our calculation, and the 2026 budget was balanced, with revenue matching approved budget allocations at 92.4 billion dirhams. The 2026 revenue estimate came from service fees of 30.105 billion dirhams, taxes of 24.665 billion, investment returns of 20.443 billion, emirate contributions of 16.717 billion and pension contributions of 470 million. On our calculation, fees supplied 32.6 percent of revenue, taxes 26.7 percent, investment returns 22.1 percent and emirate contributions 18.1 percent. Revenue growth that year came primarily from the introduction of corporate tax, alongside higher service fees and stronger investment returns. The 2027 approval was announced with approved budget allocations only, without a revenue estimate.
Approved federal budget allocations, 2024 to the 2027 to 2029 plan
| Period | Approved budget allocations (AED bn) | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 64.06 | |
| 2025 | 71.50 | 11.6% |
| 2026 | 92.40 | 29.2% |
| 2027 | 90.10 | -2.5% |
| 2024 to 2026, three budgets | 227.96 | |
| 2027 to 2029 plan | 292.50 | 28.3% |
Annual figures are approved budget expenditures. The 2024 to 2026 total is our sum of the three annual budgets; the change on the plan is against that sum.
Why it matters: The federal budget carries the public and university education, healthcare, pensions, social affairs and public services programmes, and the plan sets total federal outlay for three years at once. A 28.3 percent larger envelope, with approved budget allocations outside financial investments up 9.7 percent in its first year and education at 18.8 percent of the 2027 budget against 15.3 percent in 2025, raises total federal outlay across the three years of the plan, rather than in a single budget. It comes as the non-oil economy carries a growing weight: the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre put non-oil activities at 79.2 percent of the national economy at constant prices in the first half of 2026, up from 78.1 percent a year earlier.
Outlook: The Ministry of Finance gave the 2026 budget’s revenue sources and sector allocations in dirhams, and the 2025 budget’s programme allocations; the same detail for 2027 would put dirham amounts on the programme shares approved on 12 October and add the year’s revenue estimate. The plan’s arithmetic already sets the direction: an average of 101.2 billion dirhams a year for 2028 and 2029, above the 92.4 billion record of 2026. The Centre’s updated GDP series, due once its comprehensive revision is approved in the first quarter of 2027, will give a fresh base for measuring the plan against the size of the economy it serves.
Sources: WAM, UAE Ministry of Finance, Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, The Edge.
