ANKARA
Turkey's parliament approved Monday the government's central administration budget for 2015 with 297 votes in favor and 145 against.
The ministry estimated the budget expenses for 2015 fiscal year at 520.4 billion Turkish liras ($225 billion), while budget income for 2014 is estimated at 499.5 billion Turkish liras ($216 billion); resulting in a budget deficit of 20.9 billion Turkish liras ($9 billion).
The budget was debated in the parliament's planning and budget commission, and the general assembly during last few weeks before it got approved Monday.
The biggest share of the budget was allocated to the ministries of education and health with each getting $38 billion. This was an increase of $2.4 billion for education and $4.5 billion for health ministries compared with 2014 figures.
According to the Finance Ministry, the growth rate of Turkey's gross domestic products would be four percent in 2015, while the expected Consumer Price Index would be 6.3 percent by 2015 end.
Turkish exports would also reach 391 billion Turkish liras and imports 583 billion Turkish liras in 2015, according to budget figures.
The government spends nearly 25 percent of its budget on employees, which was nearly 3.5 million people in October 2014. Turkish government spent approximately $38 billion on its employees in fiscal year 2013 alone.
The budget deficit narrowed to 11.3 billion Turkish liras ($4.9 billion) in the first 11 months of 2014, according to the Finance Ministry. This was a significant reduction from the18.4 billion Turkish liras ($8.3 billion) budget deficit in 2013.
According to the ministry, Turkey's government revenues reached 387 billion Turkish liras ($167.5 billion) in the first 11 months of 2014 with an 8.4 percent increase compared with the same period in 2013. Budget expenditures for the same period rose to 398.2 billion Turkish liras ($173 billion) with an 11.2 percent increase year-on-year.
Meanwhile, the budget expenses for 2014 fiscal year was calculated at 436.4 billion Turkish liras, while budget income for 2014 was estimated to reach 403.2 billion liras.
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