In 2025, several countries worldwide will face economic challenges that have forced them to implement budget efficiency measures to maintain financial stability and drive sustainable growth. These efforts respond to various factors, including the global economic slowdown, commodity price fluctuations, and policies requiring budget cuts.
Through these efficiency measures, governments seek to optimize national spending by cutting non-priority budgets. Therefore, they must enhance the effectiveness of government programs and seek alternative revenue sources to ensure public welfare remains protected.
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The following are some countries experiencing budget cuts in 2025:
Indonesia
Indonesia has implemented budget efficiency policies by reducing state spending by 306 trillion rupiahs in 2025. This measure aims to reallocate funds to strategic sectors that can have a direct impact on national economic growth.
The government has also instructed budget adjustments across ministries and agencies to ensure more optimal and effective use of resources. This policy is a response to global economic dynamics and aims to maintain long-term fiscal stability.
The United States
The United States is facing economic pressures that have prompted Donald Trump’s administration to implement budget efficiency through a massive reduction in the federal workforce. On February 11, 2025, Trump signed an executive order instructing department and agency heads to significantly reduce the number of employees.
About 75,000 government workers received voluntary buyout offers, accounting for nearly 4 percent of the 2.3 million federal employees. This policy aims to reduce the country’s fiscal burden and improve bureaucratic efficiency in government administration.
Viet Nam
Viet Nam has undertaken bureaucratic reforms by reducing the number of ministries from 18 to 14 and downsizing the civil servant workforce by up to 20 percent. This effort is intended to enhance government efficiency and reduce unproductive state expenditures.
With this policy, Vietnam aims to allocate more budget to priority sectors such as infrastructure, education, and healthcare, which are expected to contribute more significantly to long-term national economic growth.
Argentina
Argentina is experiencing economic pressure that has led President Javier Milei’s administration to implement budget efficiency measures, particularly in the healthcare sector. On January 15, 2025, the Ministry of Health announced that contracts for 1,400 workers would not be renewed as part of a resource optimization strategy.
A similar step was taken the previous year when 120 workers at Posadas National Hospital lost their jobs. At the beginning of 2025, another 130 medical personnel at Baldomero Sommer National Hospital received layoff notifications. This policy aims to reduce the budget deficit and ensure the country’s fiscal sustainability.
Pakistan
Pakistan has adopted budget efficiency policies by streamlining government structures and cutting approximately 60 percent of public sector jobs. This measure is being implemented to reduce the country’s financial burden amid a prolonged economic crisis.
The government also plans to transfer the management of several hospitals to provincial authorities to reduce the central government’s fiscal responsibilities. Pakistan’s Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, stated that the government will cut the number of affiliated institutions by half and eliminate around 150,000 jobs as part of broader economic reform efforts.
