Government spending on the maintenance of state authorities, justice, prosecution, and courts, as well as self-government bodies and support for NGOs and other civil society institutions in Uzbekistan, has increased by a quarter in 2023, according to data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
In 2021, 10.46 trillion soums were allocated for these purposes, with 8.48 trillion soums for the maintenance of state authorities, justice, and prosecution, 849.8 billion soums for judicial bodies, and 1.13 trillion soums for self-government bodies and state support for NGOs.
In 2022, these expenses increased by 30.5% to 13.65 trillion soums, with state authorities, justice, and prosecution receiving 11.47 trillion soums (a 35.2% increase), judicial bodies receiving 1.12 trillion soums (a 31.5% increase), and self-government bodies and NGOs receiving 1.07 trillion soums (a 5.6% decrease).
In December 2022, Uzbekistan announced an administrative reform aimed at transitioning from manual to a more efficient management system. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev stated that the reform would reduce the number of executive authorities from 61 to 28 and cut the staff of executive bodies by up to 30%, with the funds saved redirected towards solving social issues.
The 2023 budget allocated 15.24 trillion soums for these purposes, with 13.79 trillion soums for state authorities, prosecution, justice, and courts, and 1.45 trillion soums for self-government bodies and NGOs. Following the administrative reform, these expenses were expected to decrease to 12.44 trillion soums.
Measures planned to save funds included reducing ministry and agency staff by 30%, selling over 300 vacated government buildings, auctioning 55 cars of officials whose positions were eliminated, cutting down on official trips, optimizing government office expenses, and setting price norms for official events.
The State Budget Law for 2023 was passed before the administrative reform decree, maintaining the previous number of ministries and their funding parameters. The number of government bodies and self-government bodies in 2020-2023 and projections for 2024 were outlined.
The budget message for 2024-2026 noted a decrease in the number of staff in justice, courts, and prosecution bodies from 16.5 thousand to 12.7 thousand in 2023, while the number of government bodies increased from 308 to 310. Spending on their maintenance increased by 24.5% compared to 2022.
In 2024, expenses for government bodies, courts, self-government bodies, and NGOs are projected to rise to 19.8 trillion soums (6.3% of all expenses), reaching 22.2 trillion soums in 2025, before decreasing to 20.9 trillion soums in 2026.
