Prime Minister and Finance Minister John Briceño tabled a $1.902 billion budget for fiscal year 2026-27 this period, anchored on what he described as a “seminal surge” in the national economy and a historic unemployment low of 2.0 per cent. Total revenues and grants are projected at $1.79 billion, an 8.5 per cent increase over the prior year, with recurrent expenditure of $1.296 billion and capital investment lifted to a record $488.6 million.
The fiscal strategy positions Belize for a debt-to-GDP target of 50 per cent by 2030. Public debt currently stands at $4.676 billion, roughly 66.6 per cent of annual GDP, with $2.984 billion held externally. Briceño told the House that government’s average borrowing rate is 3.5 per cent and that 58 cents of every dollar of recurring spending now goes to salaries and pensions for the approximately 15,000-strong public workforce. He framed the trajectory as continuation of an effort that has, by his account, halved the debt ratio since 2020.
Two structural reforms inside the budget will outlast any single fiscal year. The Belize Tax Service is being transformed into a Semi-Autonomous Revenue Authority known as SARA, and electronic invoicing is being implemented across the tax system. Both are administrative modernisations that diaspora-owned small businesses operating in Belize will need to track. Capital spending priorities include the Belize City Swing Bridge replacement, funded by Japan; the Belcan Bridge replacement; rehabilitation of the George Price Highway between Belmopan and Hattieville; and over 100 megawatts of new renewable capacity through solar and hydroelectric upgrades.
Sources: Breaking Belize News; Love FM Belize; belize.com, March 10, 2026 budget address coverage.