Mozambique reports €1.089 billion in Q1 state revenue

The Mozambican State collected 81,536.3 million meticais (€1.089 billion) in revenue in the first quarter of this year, the Government announced, acknowledging signs of economic recovery despite floods that constrained economic activity. “The revenue collected by the State was 81,536.3 million meticais [€1.089 billion], corresponding to 20.03% of the annual plan, and public expenditure executed was 81,252.3 million meticais [€1.085 billion], corresponding to 15.61% of the total planned,” government spokesperson Inocêncio Impissa said at the end of a Council of Ministers meeting yesterday in Maputo, presenting the implementation balance of the Economic and Social Plan and State Budget (PESOE) 2026. According to the Mozambican Government, the start of 2026 was marked by “adverse shocks”, particularly extreme weather events, namely floods in the south and centre of the country, as well as Cyclone Gezane, which affected infrastructure, production areas and livelihoods, constraining national economic and social performance.

“Simultaneously, during the period under review, Mozambique was affected by geo-strategic conflicts, notably Israel–Palestine, Russia–Ukraine and more recently Israel–United States–Iran,” Impissa said. Despite this scenario, the Mozambican economy showed signs of gradual recovery after the contraction recorded in the first, second and third quarters of 2025, with Gross Domestic Product standing at -0.52%, Impissa said. He also pointed to exchange rate stability at 62.02 meticais per US dollar, inflation at 3.98%, and international reserves equivalent to almost five months of import cover.

According to the Government, PESOE 2026 performance in the first quarter was also influenced by an “adverse international context”, marked by a slowdown in global economic growth, which fell from 3.4% in 2025 to around 3.1% in 2026, “in an environment marked by political tensions”, restrictive financial conditions and disruptions in global supply chains. “Structural challenges persist, particularly the high weight of operating expenditure, which continues to absorb most domestic resources. The level of domestic debt remains high, limiting credit availability and the investment capacity of the private sector,” reads the final communiqué of the Council of Ministers.

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The Mozambican Government had earlier acknowledged a “substantially more adverse” financial scenario than forecast in the initial 2026 budget proposal submitted to parliament in October, cutting growth projections to 1.6% this year and expected revenues for next year. In the revised government proposal, projected State revenue is now 406,969.4 million meticais (€5.481 billion) in 2026, equivalent to 24.9% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP); State expenditure is set at 520,634.2 million meticais (€7.012 billion), corresponding to 31.8% of GDP; while the budget deficit remains at 113,664.9 million meticais (€1.530 billion), equivalent to 7.0% of GDP. “A recovery in economic growth to 2.8% is projected for 2026, compared with 1.6% forecast for 2025, mainly driven by the expansion of the services sector, growth in liquefied natural gas exports, as well as the dynamism of the agricultural sector and significant investments in the energy sector,” reads the budget proposal, which contrasts with the earlier forecast of 2.9% economic growth.

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