Iraq's 2027 Budget Draft To Reach Parliament By Mid-November
Kurdistan 24 was the first media outlet to publish the 2027 budget draft on October 6, revealing total expenditures of 217 trillion dinars against revenues of 174 trillion dinars, with the Kurdistan Region's share reduced and no investment or development budget allocated beyond operational spending
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Iraq's Parliamentary Finance Committee announced that the 2027 budget draft will be sent to parliament by the middle of next month, with committee head Udai Awad telling the Iraqi News Agency that the submission has been delayed to November 15, as concerns intensify over the Kurdistan Region's drastically reduced budget share and the absence of any investment or development allocation beyond the minimum operational budget.
The Budget's Numbers
Kurdistan 24, the first media outlet to publish the 2027 Iraq budget draft on October 6, 2026, revealed that the Iraqi government has projected total expenditures at 217 trillion dinars and revenues at 174 trillion dinars. The Kurdistan Region's share in the total budget is 13.308 trillion dinars, representing 6.1 percent of total expenditures, down from 8.3 percent in 2023 and 8.8 percent in 2021, and down 19.3 percent in absolute terms from the 16.498 trillion dinars allocated in 2023.
The investment budget allocated for the Kurdistan Region stands at only 0.499 trillion dinars, compared to 2.784 trillion dinars in the previous year, a collapse of more than 80 percent in development spending. No projects or investment programmes for the establishment and development of the Region have been specified in the draft beyond the operational budget, which is itself less than what is needed to cover full salary costs and represents the lowest operational allocation in five years.
The oil volume allocated for the Kurdistan Region in the revenue calculations remains at 400,000 barrels per day as in 2023, despite the fact that following the pipeline attacks that figure is not currently being exported from the Kurdistan Region.
PM Al-Zaidi's Instructions
PM Ali al-Zaidi previously ordered that all contractors and daily-contract employees be placed on the payroll and that 120,000 new civil service positions be provided within the 2027 budget framework, covering all segments of the workforce. Those positions will be distributed equitably across governorates according to population ratios. The Iraqi government is also establishing a dedicated employment platform to ensure fairness among applicants.
Political Reactions
The head of the PUK parliamentary bloc in the Iraqi parliament stated that in its current form the party will not vote for the budget draft. The KRG negotiating delegation has been in Baghdad pressing for amendments, and the Iraqi federal delegation led by Deputy PM Mandalawi met PM Masrour Barzani in Zakho on Sunday specifically to discuss the oil file and 2027 budget demands. KRG Spokesman Hawrami confirmed that the current draft does not meet Kurdistan's expectations and rights and that the negotiating delegation is pressing for necessary amendments to reach a fair outcome.