Central govt debt rises by 13% YoY in Feb

March 28, 2025 (MLN): The total debt of the central government increased by 12.69% YoY to Rs73.04 trillion in February 2025, compared to Rs64.81tr in February 2024, the data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed.

Moreover, on a sequential basis, the central government debt surged by 1.26% MoM compared to Rs72.12tr in January 2025.

The year-on-year increase in debt burden is primarily attributed to borrowing from domestic and foreign sources to cover the fiscal deficit.

As per details made available by SBP, the larger portion of the debt was domestic and stood at Rs51.02tr, comprising Rs42.72tr long-term debt, Rs8.23tr short-term debt and the remaining Rs70.14bn through Naya Pakistan Certificates.

The figures reported by the central bank for the domestic debt reflect an increase of 19.56% YoY and on a sequential basis a increase of 1.55%

By the end of February 2025, the government’s long-term debt rose by 23.39% YoY to Rs42.72tr as compared to Rs34.62tr recorded in the same period a year ago, while increasing 2.14% MoM.

Conversely, the short-term debt increased by 3.48% YoY to Rs8.23tr in the review month.

Within the long-term domestic debt, the Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) accounted for the majority proportion and stood at Rs32.56tr, Up by 25.07% YoY and 2.47% MoM.

Meanwhile, in the short-term domestic debt, Market Treasury Bills (MTBs) were the dominant source of borrowing, amounting to Rs8.14tr, up by 3.36% YoY, while down by 1.49% MoM.

Borrowing through Naya Pakistan Certificates has decreased by 29.29% YoY to stand at Rs70.14bn in February 2025.

Comparison on a monthly metric shows that in February , the government borrowed 5.45% more through these certificates compared to Rs66.51bn in the previous month.

A breakup of the central government's external debt shows that nearly Rs21.73tr came from long-term loans while Rs288.59bn came from short-term loans.

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