The South Africa national budget for 2026/27 totals R2.67tn. That is up 3.5% on the 2025/26 budget of R2.58tn.
About the total: Consolidated government expenditure (national, provincial, social security funds, public entities financed from own revenue), last row of the function table, R million precision. HEADLINE total used for all years. The R billion fiscal-framework table gives the same figure to R1 million (checked).
Key figures
- Approved budget, 2026/27: R2.67tn. 1 April to 31 March, as approved
- Health share, 2026/27: 11.6%. Abuja target is 15%
- Education share, 2026/27: 19.3%. Benchmark is 15 to 20%
Where the money goes
| Line | Amount | Share of budget | Change on 2025/26, current prices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education | R0.51tn | 19.3% | 4.3% |
| Debt service | R0.43tn | 16.2% | - |
| Social protection | R0.33tn | 12.4% | 3.1% |
| Health | R0.31tn | 11.6% | 4.8% |
| Defence and security | R0.27tn | 10.3% | 4.4% |
| Infrastructure | R0.16tn | 6.1% | -6.6% |
| Agriculture | R0.04tn | 1.5% | 34.6% |
| All other lines | R0.60tn | 22.6% | - |
Approved against actual spending
| Year | Approved | Actual | Actual as share of approved |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | R2.24tn | R2.26tn | 100.6% |
| 2024/25 | R2.37tn | R2.39tn | 100.9% |
The documents behind 2026/27
- 2026 Budget Review (full), National Treasury, tabled 25 February 2026 (National Treasury, South Africa)
- 2026 Budget Review, all tables (Excel zip).zip) (National Treasury, South Africa)
- 2026 Budget Review, Statistical Annex tables (Excel zip) (National Treasury, South Africa)
- Appropriation Bill B4-2026 (Bill as introduced; signed Act not obtained).pdf) (National Treasury, South Africa)
Compare every year on the South Africa budget page, and see how we read budget documents.
Source: National Treasury, 2026; World Bank, 2026. Method: how we compile this.