Government budget balance in Mauritius
The gap between what the government collects and what it spends each year. A negative number is a deficit, which has to be borrowed.
−6.0%
Where it stands
The government's own fiscal-year figures differ from the IMF's calendar measure. In 2025-26 revenue was Rs 203.6bn and spending Rs 250.1bn, a deficit of Rs 46.5bn or 6.0% of GDP; it would have been 4.7% had the expected Rs 10 billion from the Chagos agreement been received. For 2026-27 the Budget plans revenue of Rs 235.5bn (including Chagos receipts) and spending of Rs 266.7bn: a deficit of 3.7% of GDP. With the Chagos treaty not yet in force, those receipts are uncertain.
What it means
Deficits add to debt. To bring debt down the government needs faster growth, higher taxes or lower spending: every option has a cost, which is why measures such as the pension reform are so contested.
Recent years
| Year | Government budget balance |
|---|---|
| 2021 | -4.1% |
| 2022 | -3.1% |
| 2023 | -4.5% |
| 2024 | -6.8% |
| 2025 | -3.7% |
Why it moved
2021: COVID support still running.
2022: Revenue surged with the recovery and inflation, so the deficit narrowed.
2023: Subsidies and allowances to cushion the cost of living widened it again.
2024: Election-year spending: pension increases, allowances and subsidies.
2025: IMF estimate for the first year of consolidation after the 2025-26 Budget cuts.