(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 20.​ Azerbaijan's state budget for next year foresees social spending increasing by 236 million manat ($138.7 million), or 1.4 percent, compared to 2025, reaching a total of 17.1 billion manat ($10 billion), the country's Labor and Social Protection Minister Anar Aliyev said during today's plenary session of the parliament, Trend reports.

Speaking at a discussion on the draft laws on the“State Social Protection Fund Budget for 2026” and the“Unemployment Insurance Fund Budget for 2026,” Aliyev noted that social spending is projected to account for 41.1 percent of the state budget.

“This represents a 2.2-fold increase over the last seven years, rising from 7.8 billion manat ($4.5 billion) to 17.1 billion manat ($10 billion),” he said.

The minister added that social protection and social security expenditures in the 2026 state budget are expected to reach 4.87 billion manat ($2.86 billion), which is 2.6 percent, or 121.2 million manat ($71.2 million), higher than the projected figure for 2025.

“This reflects a 2.1-fold increase over seven years, growing from 2.3 billion manat ($1.35 billion) to 4.9 billion manat ($2.88 billion),” Aliyev emphasized.

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