Pakistan’s outstanding external debt, liabilities reach $131bn in Q4FY24

February 14, 2025 (MLN): Pakistan’s external debt and liabilities (outstanding) reached $131.07bn at the end of Q4 FY24, reflecting a decrease of $2.614bn or 1.96% QoQ, the central bank data showed on Friday.

On a yearly basis, the country’s external debt and liabilities went down by $-1014.28bn or 0.77% YoY during Q4 FY24 as the figure stood at $132.083bn at the end of Q4 FY23.

According to the latest data issued by the SBP, 75.02% of the entire debt is attributed to public external debt; the combination of the government’s long-term and short-term external debt, IMF loans to the central bank, and foreign exchange liabilities.

The government's external debt stood at $78.13bn during Q4 FY24, reflecting a decrease of 1.52% QoQ, while going down by 2.54% YoY.

Within the external debt, the long-term debt by the end of the respective quarter stood at $77.02bn, down by 1.83% QoQ and 3.81% YoY.

Meanwhile, the short-term debt (less than one year) increased by 1020.21% YoY to $1.112bn compared to the $99.289m recorded in the same period last year.

The data further shows that International Monetary Fund (IMF's) loans to the central bank and federal government stood at $4.036bn and $4.457bn respectively during the quarter under review.

The foreign exchange liabilities outstanding during the period under review were recorded at $11.71bn, down by 2.76% QoQ and 1.92% YoY.

Apart from public external debt, the remaining outstanding amount comprises borrowing from public sector enterprises, banks, and the private sector.

Outstanding external debt of public sector enterprises (PSEs) clocked in at $7.302bn, down by 0.67% QoQ and 3.27% YoY.

The amount owed to banks stood at $7.204bn during the review period, in which short-term bank borrowing stood at $2.594bn, while long term borrowing was recorded at $1.3bn in the quarter under review.

Private sector debt, which attributed 9.3% of the total external debt amounted to $12.183bn by the end of 1QFY24, down by 3.35% QoQ and 1.79% YoY.

The last element of the total external debt and liabilities was debt liabilities to direct investors (Intercompany debt) which stood at $6.049bn.

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