2027 National Budget: A Breakdown of Government Expenditure Priorities

By Pauline Ngozoh

2027 National Budget: A Breakdown of Government Expenditure Priorities

Zambia's proposed 2027 National Budget totals K284,768,549,963, according to a functional breakdown published by the Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) based on the 2027 Budget Address.

The functional classification shows how Government plans to distribute public resources across its core responsibilities, rather than by ministry. It provides a clearer picture of where spending is concentrated in the coming fiscal year.

General Public Services take the largest share, at K90,525,618,457, representing 31.79% of the total budget. This function generally covers the running of government, including administration, debt servicing and other central operations.

Economic Affairs follow at K75,903,425,061 (26.65%), covering sectors such as agriculture, transport, energy, commerce and infrastructure that drive economic activity.

Social sectors account for the next largest allocations. Education is allocated K38,239,781,406 (13.43%), Health K30,253,032,675 (10.62%), and Social Protection K16,179,756,073 (5.68%).

The rest of the budget is distributed as follows:

Function Amount Share

Defence K14,649,393,747 5.14%

Public Order and Safety K11,364,073,107 3.99%

Housing and Community Amenities K4,628,506,297 1.63%

Environmental Protection K2,288,686,674 0.80%

Recreation, Culture and Religion K736,276,466 0.26%

In total, General Public Services and Economic Affairs account for 58.44% of the proposed budget, while Education, Health and Social Protection combined account for 29.73%.

The breakdown is intended to help the public understand Government's stated spending priorities as Parliament considers the 2027 Budget.

Source: CSPR Zambia, 2027 Budget Address, Expenditure by Functions of Government, page 17.