BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 4. The draft state budget of Azerbaijan for 2026 envisages 631.6 million manat ($372 million) for the financing of culture, art, information, physical education, youth policy, and other related areas.
The data obtained by Trend from the draft law “On the State Budget of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2026”, discussed today at a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Economic Policy, Industry, and Entrepreneurship, shows that this figure is 9.9 million manat ($5.8 million), or 1.6 percent higher than in 2025, and 134.7 million manat ($79.5 million), or 27.1 percent higher than in the 2024 budget execution.
Compared to 2022, in 2026 the share of these expenditures in the structure of state budget spending will increase by 0.2 percentage points, while in absolute terms it will rise by 227.0 million manat ($134 million), or 1.6 times.
Of this total amount, 240.7 million manat ($142 million), or 38.1 percent, will be directed to expenditures in the field of culture and art, including the financial maintenance of libraries, museums, reserves, palaces, cultural centers, theaters, and music ensembles.
As many as 78.7 million manat ($46.4 million), or 12.5 percent, will go to television, radio, and publishing expenditures, while 50.1 million manat ($29.6 million), or 7.9 percent, will finance physical education and youth policy programs.
Meanwhile, 22.8 million manat ($13.5 million), or 3.6 percent, will be allocated to expenses related to creative unions, societies, and religious events, and 239.3 million manat ($141.2 million), or 37.9 percent, will be directed to financing other institutions and activities in these fields.
