As for the deficit, after grants, it reached about 1.273 billion dinars. Although the deficit represents an ongoing challenge for public finances, the most important factor in assessing the financial situation is the government's ability to manage this deficit within a framework that preserves financial stability and prevents financial pressures from spilling over further into the economy. One of the most prominent positive points in the current indicators emerges here, which is the stability of the public debt-to-GDP ratio. The public debt balance, excluding the debt held by the Social Security Investment Fund, reached about 37.69 billion dinars at the end of June 2026, compared to 36.56 billion dinars in 2025. This means that the debt increased by about 1.13 billion dinars, or 3.1%.
However, more importantly, the debt-to-GDP ratio rose very marginally from 83.5% to 83.6%. From the perspective of financial sustainability, the stability of this ratio is an important indicator, because the true burden of debt is not measured by its nominal size alone, but by its relationship to the size of the economy and its ability to generate income and revenues. As for the debt structure, external debt reached about 20.64 billion dinars, compared to 17.06 billion dinars for domestic debt. This means that debt management needs to continue achieving a balance between funding sources, with a focus on reducing borrowing costs, extending maturities, and minimizing refinancing risks.
Externally, foreign reserves provide a clear positive indicator. They rose to about 26.09 billion dollars at the end of June 2026, compared to 25.50 billion dollars in 2025, an increase of nearly 585 million dollars, or 2.3%. This rise enhances the Jordanian economy's ability to withstand external shocks and supports monetary stability and the exchange rate.
Furthermore, reserve coverage of imports reached about 8.6 months, a duration that provides a good safety margin for the economy and confirms the robustness of the external position. Banking indicators also show the continued stable financial activity. The broad money supply (M2) grew by 3.7%, deposits rose by 2.2%, and credit facilities increased by 3%. At the same time, the weighted average interest rate on loans and advances dropped from 7.95% to 7.48%. This relative development is important because it indicates a drop in the cost of funding, even if relative, and supports the private sector's ability to obtain credit, which can help stimulate investment and economic activity.
The indicators for the first half of 2026 generally point towards the continued preservation of financial and monetary stability. Domestic revenues represent the largest portion of the Treasury's resources, the debt-to-GDP ratio remained almost stable, foreign reserves increased, and bank credit continued to grow. These results certainly do not mean that financial challenges have ended, but they indicate that the Jordanian economy possesses a base of stability upon which to build. The challenge in the upcoming phase is to transform this stability into higher economic growth, greater productivity, and more job opportunities by raising the efficiency of public spending, enhancing domestic revenue growth, channeling capital spending towards projects with the highest economic return, and continuing to improve public debt management.
