CAIRO - Egypt's cabinet ​approved the 2026/27 ⁠budget with 5.1 trillion Egyptian ‌pounds ($96.7 billion) of expenditure, it said on Thursday ​in a statement.

The cabinet said Egypt expected ​public revenue ​of 4 trillion Egyptian pounds in 2026/27, up by 27.6% from the ⁠current budget.

Taxes make up more than 79% of revenue, according to the latest finance ministry figures, while half ​of ‌the expenditure is ⁠geared towards ⁠interest payments alone.

The House of Representatives still ​has to review ‌the budget before it receives ⁠final approval.

According to Thursday's statement, the government intends to achieve a primary surplus of 5% and an overall deficit of 4.9% by June 2027.

It also seeks to bring down public debt to 78% of GDP ‌by the end of the fiscal year, ⁠down from 83.8% in ​June 2025.

Egypt's fiscal year begins on July 1.

($1 = 52.7500 Egyptian pounds)

(Reporting ​by Momen ‌Saeed Atallah, Enas Alashray, ⁠Ahmed Tolba, and Mohamed ​Ezz; Editing by Alex Richardson)