What's getting more money this year, and what's getting less?
The Government plans to spend HK$843.4 billion in 2026-27 p.12 (official document, opens in new tab). That is HK$54.2 billion (our calculation), or 6.9% p.12 (official document, opens in new tab), more than the revised estimate of HK$789.2 billion for 2025-26 p.12 (official document, opens in new tab). After allowing for price changes, the rise is 4.8% p.12 (official document, opens in new tab).
Social welfare, infrastructure and health get the biggest increases. Housing is the only policy area group that gets less. The detail is below.
Which areas get more?
Social Welfare grows most: up HK$18.6bn (+14.4%). Housing falls most: down HK$2.4bn (−24.6%) p.12 (official document, opens in new tab)
Change in total government expenditure from the 2025-26 revised estimate to the 2026-27 estimate, by policy area group, sorted by HK$ change.
- More
- Less
- Social Welfare +HK$18.6bn +14.4% p.12 (official document, opens in new tab)
- Infrastructure +HK$10.4bn +9.1% p.12 (official document, opens in new tab)
- Health +HK$8.3bn +5.7% p.12 (official document, opens in new tab)
- Security +HK$6.4bn +9.8% p.12 (official document, opens in new tab)
- Support +HK$5.6bn +6.6% p.12 (official document, opens in new tab)
- Economic +HK$5.0bn +9.7% p.12 (official document, opens in new tab)
- Education +HK$1.1bn +1.0% p.12 (official document, opens in new tab)
- Community and External Affairs +HK$830m +3.1% p.12 (official document, opens in new tab)
- Environment and Food +HK$402m +0.8% p.12 (official document, opens in new tab)
- Housing −HK$2.4bn −24.6% p.12 (official document, opens in new tab)
HK$ changes are our calculation, subtracting the official figures. Percentages are the official ones printed in Budget Appendix B. "Real" is the change after allowing for price changes. Budget Appendix B, p.12 (official document, opens in new tab)
Show the numbers as a table
Total government expenditure by policy area group, HK$ million.
| Policy area group | 2024-25Actual | 2025-26Revised estimate | 2026-27Estimate | Changeour calculation | Nominalofficial | Realofficial | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Welfare | 122,123 | 129,519 | 148,140 | +18,621 | +14.4% | +11.6% | p.12 (official document, opens in new tab) |
| Infrastructure | 99,546 | 114,482 | 124,923 | +10,441 | +9.1% | +6.5% | p.12 (official document, opens in new tab) |
| Health | 130,340 | 144,823 | 153,102 | +8,279 | +5.7% | +3.8% | p.12 (official document, opens in new tab) |
| Security | 65,746 | 65,127 | 71,516 | +6,389 | +9.8% | +8.1% | p.12 (official document, opens in new tab) |
| Support | 81,236 | 84,528 | 90,143 | +5,615 | +6.6% | +5.3% | p.12 (official document, opens in new tab) |
| Economic | 54,913 | 51,937 | 56,955 | +5,018 | +9.7% | +7.4% | p.12 (official document, opens in new tab) |
| Education | 113,783 | 110,904 | 111,975 | +1,071 | +1.0% | −0.4% | p.12 (official document, opens in new tab) |
| Community and External Affairs | 30,374 | 27,160 | 27,990 | +830 | +3.1% | +0.8% | p.12 (official document, opens in new tab) |
| Environment and Food | 47,756 | 50,854 | 51,256 | +402 | +0.8% | −1.3% | p.12 (official document, opens in new tab) |
| Housing | 7,403 | 9,837 | 7,416 | −2,421 | −24.6% | −26.4% | p.12 (official document, opens in new tab) |
| Total | 753,220 | 789,171 | 843,416 | +54,245 | +6.9% | +4.8% | p.12 (official document, opens in new tab) |
Why the biggest changes happened
Each point below is a figure printed in the Budget Speech or the Estimates.
Social Welfare: up HK$18.6 billion (+14.4%) p.12 (official document, opens in new tab)
- The Social Welfare Department's budget rises from HK$119.2 billion p.3 (official document, opens in new tab) to HK$132.9 billion p.3 (official document, opens in new tab).
- More than half of the rise is the Social Security Allowance (Old Age Allowance, Old Age Living Allowance and Disability Allowance), which goes from HK$54.2 billion p.21 (official document, opens in new tab) to HK$61.9 billion p.21 (official document, opens in new tab) (our calculation).
- The Budget pays an extra month of standard-rate CSSA, Old Age Allowance, Old Age Living Allowance or Disability Allowance, and a similar payment to Working Family Allowance recipients, costing about HK$6.5 billion in all Budget Speech, p.94 (official document, opens in new tab). The department's general non-recurrent spending goes from HK$3.0 billion p.21 (official document, opens in new tab) to HK$6.6 billion p.21 (official document, opens in new tab).
Infrastructure: up HK$10.4 billion (+9.1%) p.12 (official document, opens in new tab)
- Building projects are paid mainly from the Capital Works Reserve Fund, not from department budgets. The fund's spending on works (Heads 701 to 711) rises from HK$150.7 billion p.3 (official document, opens in new tab) to HK$156.4 billion p.3 (official document, opens in new tab).
- The fund also pays interest and other expenses on government bonds, which rise from HK$10.6 billion p.3 (official document, opens in new tab) to HK$16.6 billion p.3 (official document, opens in new tab): the fund's largest increase. The works figure covers projects in every policy area group, and the Budget does not say which group the bond interest counts in, so these figures explain only part of the change in Infrastructure.
- Within it, land development, including the Northern Metropolis new development areas, rises from HK$17.0 billion p.7 (official document, opens in new tab) to HK$20.8 billion p.7 (official document, opens in new tab).
Health: up HK$8.3 billion (+5.7%) p.12 (official document, opens in new tab)
- The Hospital Authority's recurrent subvention rises from HK$99.0 billion p.13 (official document, opens in new tab) to HK$101.8 billion p.13 (official document, opens in new tab).
- Hospital building works in the Capital Works Reserve Fund rise from HK$18.1 billion p.10 (official document, opens in new tab) to HK$22.7 billion p.10 (official document, opens in new tab).
Security: up HK$6.4 billion (+9.8%) p.12 (official document, opens in new tab)
- Total spending on security rises 9.8% p.12 (official document, opens in new tab), but recurrent spending rises only 2.9% p.9 (official document, opens in new tab). Most of the increase is one-off or capital spending, not day-to-day running costs.
- The Hong Kong Police Force budget goes from HK$26.6 billion p.2 (official document, opens in new tab) to HK$27.0 billion p.2 (official document, opens in new tab), while its establishment falls from 37,793 p.2 (official document, opens in new tab) to 36,458 posts p.2 (official document, opens in new tab).
Housing: down HK$2.4 billion (−24.6%) p.12 (official document, opens in new tab)
- Housing works in the Capital Works Reserve Fund (Head 711) fall from HK$12.2 billion p.1 (official document, opens in new tab) to HK$5.5 billion p.1 (official document, opens in new tab), mostly because Light Public Housing falls from HK$7.8 billion p.2 (official document, opens in new tab) to HK$1.8 billion p.2 (official document, opens in new tab).
- The Housing Bureau's own budget, by contrast, rises from HK$1.8 billion p.2 (official document, opens in new tab) to HK$5.3 billion p.2 (official document, opens in new tab), because it includes HK$4.0 billion p.13 (official document, opens in new tab) for long-term housing for Wang Fuk Court residents after the Tai Po fire Budget Speech, p.78 (official document, opens in new tab).
- Most public housing is paid for by the Housing Authority, which is outside government expenditure. Counted as public expenditure, housing gets HK$64.5 billion in 2026-27 p.11 (official document, opens in new tab).
Money held centrally until later
- Miscellaneous Services goes from HK$78.8 million p.3 (official document, opens in new tab) to HK$6.3 billion p.3 (official document, opens in new tab). It holds "additional commitments" of HK$5.7 billion recurrent p.2 (official document, opens in new tab) and HK$393 million non-recurrent p.2 (official document, opens in new tab): money set aside for measures still being planned, which is moved to departments during the year.
- Pensions rise from HK$52.0 billion p.3 (official document, opens in new tab) to HK$53.9 billion p.3 (official document, opens in new tab).
Recurrent and total spending
Recurrent spending is money spent every year, such as pay, subventions and allowances. Total spending also includes one-off items and capital works. When the two grow at very different rates, one-off measures or building works are usually the reason.
Which departments get more, and which get less?
These tables compare each head's 2026-27 estimate with its 2025-26 revised estimate. Heads cover only the General Revenue Account and leave out most building works (in the Capital Works Reserve Fund), so they do not match the policy area groups above. Head 184 (Transfers to Funds) only moves money between the Government's own accounts and is not spending, so it is not ranked.
Biggest increases (HK$ million)
Head 106 (Miscellaneous Services): the original 2025-26 estimate was HK$1,678.4 million p.3 (official document, opens in new tab). Its "additional commitments" were moved to other heads during the year p.2 (official document, opens in new tab), so the revised estimate is much lower. Against the original estimate, 2026-27 is +275.3% (our calculation). Head 155 (Government Secretariat: Innovation and Technology Commission): the original 2025-26 estimate was HK$2,579.4 million p.2 (official document, opens in new tab). It was cut sharply during the year. Against the original estimate, 2026-27 is −2.5% (our calculation).
Biggest decreases (HK$ million)
The Government's Productivity Enhancement Programme also cuts recurrent spending, saving about a further HK$7.8 billion in 2026-27 compared with 2025-26 Budget Speech, p.85 (official document, opens in new tab). CSSA, the Social Security Allowance and statutory spending are not affected.