By Abdullahi Salad - Reporter
Somalia (Dawan), 10 August 2026 — Domestic revenue collected by the Federal Government of Somalia in 2025 was sufficient to cover all regular government employee salaries and finance a significant share of recurrent expenditures, according to the 2025 Annual Report and Final Accounts released by the Office of the Accountant General.
The report showed domestic revenue reached $404.3 million, up from $369.3 million in 2024. That represents an increase of nearly $35 million, or 9.4%, compared with the previous year.
The increase enabled the government to cover all regular salaries of public employees, which totalled approximately $366.4 million. As a result, domestic revenue exceeded the government’s salary bill by nearly $38 million. The report noted that from 2022 to 2024, domestic revenue also covered 100% of government employee salaries.
Security institutions received the largest share of recurrent expenditure. The government spent $266 million on security in 2025, representing 43% of all recurrent expenditure paid.
Economic and social institutions received $84 million, accounting for 13% of recurrent expenditure.
However, domestic revenue alone did not cover all recurrent government spending, though it remained the main source for financing salaries and a significant portion of government operations.
On development projects, the government did not receive all the funding it had expected.
The government had planned to spend approximately $710.1 million on development projects in 2025, but actual expenditure amounted to around $350 million.
That means only 49% of the planned development-project budget was implemented.
One of the main reasons was lower-than-expected external grants. The government had projected $731.7 million in project grants but received only $341.7 million, or 47% of the annual target.
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Domestic revenue came from taxes as well as other government service fees, including business licenses, visas for foreign nationals, passports, port services, Mogadishu airport operations and the use of Somali airspace.
Income and profit taxes reached $44.8 million, 18% above the 2025 target.
Taxes on goods and services also reached $67.3 million, exceeding the annual target.
Non-tax revenue reached $123.6 million, higher than the amount collected in 2024.
Overall government revenue in 2025 reached $919.8 million, equivalent to 69% of the amount projected in the annual budget.
Domestic revenue accounted for 44% of total government revenue, while external grants represented 56%.
The World Bank was the largest external donor, providing $453.8 million, or 88% of all external grants received by the government.
Although the government did not receive all the funding expected for development projects, the report said progress was made in social services and key infrastructure.
Overall, the 2025 results point to continued growth in domestic revenue and increased capacity by the government to finance public-sector salaries. At the same time, lower-than-expected project grants reduced the implementation rate of development projects.