Central govt debt rises by 13% YoY to Rs75tr in April

June 04, 2025 (MLN): The total debt of the central government increased by 13.39% YoY to Rs74.94 trillion in April 2025, compared to Rs66.09tr in April 2024, the data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) showed.

Moreover, on a sequential basis, the central government debt surged by 1.69% MoM compared to Rs73.69tr in March 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 Rs52.52tr, comprising Rs44.13tr long-term debt, Rs8.33tr short-term debt and the remaining Rs62.05bn through Naya Pakistan Certificates.

The figures reported by the central bank for the domestic debt reflect an increase of 18.07% YoY and on a sequential basis a increase of 1.95%

By the end of April 2025, the government’s long-term debt rose by 25.28% YoY to Rs44.13tr as compared to Rs35.23tr recorded in the same period a year ago, while rising 1.23% MoM.

Similarly, the short-term debt fell by -9.14% YoY to Rs8.33tr in the review month.

Within the long-term domestic debt, the Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) accounted for the majority proportion and stood at Rs34.32tr, Up by 29.32% YoY and 2.07% MoM.

Meanwhile, in the short-term domestic debt, Market Treasury Bills (MTBs) were the dominant source of borrowing, amounting to Rs8.23tr, down by 9.41% YoY, while up by 5.99% MoM.

Borrowing through Naya Pakistan Certificates has declined by 33.09% YoY to stand at Rs62.05bn in April 2025.

Comparison on a monthly metric shows that in April, the government borrowed 0.98% less through these certificates compared to Rs62.67bn in the previous month.

A breakup of the central government's external debt shows that nearly Rs22.2tr came from long-term loans while Rs211.06bn came from short-term loans.

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