Syria’s public coffers recorded a $1 billion deficit in the first half of 2026, the country’s finance minister announced Monday. According to the official SANA news agency, total public revenues during the first six months of the year reached about $2.7 billion, compared to public spending of about $3.7 billion—producing a budget deficit of nearly $1 billion.
The situation in Hormuz has hit nearly every Middle Eastern country, but one nation reported particularly alarming numbers. According to the local finance ministry’s statement, the country lost $1 billion in the first half of 2026, and the forecasts it presented don’t point to a different future. Still, officials are hoping Trump’s latest move will reshuffle the deck and change the situation.
1+The numbers didn’t surprise the minister—the finance ministry had estimated total revenues for the 2026 budget at about $8.716 billion, against estimated spending of about $10.516 billion, which would produce an estimated deficit of nearly $1.799 billion.
Beyond that, in an interesting initiative launched last April, the finance ministry announced a “citizen’s version” of the 2026 budget. It’s a simplified, condensed version designed so citizens can understand the budget more clearly and be aware of it—even though its condition doesn’t look bright.
1+Syria is hoping that being removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism will jump-start the economy. That’s because many restrictions previously imposed on the country have now been lifted, including signing international deals with companies from various countries. One of the lifted restrictions is the use of credit cards—Syrian leader al-Jolani made a credit card payment for the first time in 15 years last week.