Pakistan’s external debt pile nearly doubles in a decade

November 11, 2026 (MLN): Pakistan’s external debt stock rose 4% year-on-year to $135.1bn at the end of 2025, nearly double the $68.7bn recorded in 2015, according to the World Bank Group’s International Debt Report 2026.

The report, which draws on the World Bank Group’s International Debt Statistics database, classifies Pakistan as a lower-middle-income country in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan region, with a population of 255.2mn and gross national income of $398.2bn.

Public and publicly guaranteed debt made up $107.1bn of the total.

Private non-guaranteed debt stood at $17.6bn and short-term debt at $10.5bn.

Within public and publicly guaranteed debt, multilateral creditors held the largest share at $56.8bn, followed by bilateral creditors at $42.4bn and private creditors at $7.8bn.

Among multilateral lenders, World Bank-IDA was owed $19.2bn and the Asian Development Bank $16.8bn, while other multilateral creditors accounted for $20.8bn.

On the bilateral side, China was the largest creditor with $22.4bn, while other bilateral creditors were owed $11.9bn and multiple lenders at $8.1bn.

 
The report showed external debt at 4.2x of exports and 34% of gross national income in 2025.

Debt service stood at 33% of exports and 3% of gross national income.

On new commitments in 2025, official creditors extended funds at an average maturity of 16 years, a grace period of four years and an interest rate of 3.6%.

Private creditors extended funds at an average maturity of three years, a grace period of one year and an interest rate of 8.6%.

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