Pakistan’s external debt doubles over a decade: World Bank

Islamabad, Pakistan - Pakistan's external debt stock surged to USD 135.1 billion by 2025, nearly doubling over a decade, according to the World Bank's International Debt Report 2026. The report revealed that public and publicly guaranteed debt accounted for USD 107.076 billion, private non-guaranteed debt totaled USD 17.58 billion, and short-term obligations amounted to USD 10.451 billion at the year's end.

Multilateral creditors held USD 56.832 billion, while bilateral creditors owed USD 42.439 billion, with China as the largest bilateral creditor at USD 22.419 billion. The IMF provided USD 2.3 billion in new disbursements to Pakistan in 2025, underscoring the increasingly high cost of private external financing, with an average interest rate of 8.6 percent compared to the official 3.6 percent.

The external debt-to-GNI ratio stood at 34 percent in 2025, and debt service payments consumed 33 percent of exports and 3 percent of GNI. Pakistan's external debt-to-exports ratio was 324 percent, highlighting the significant debt burden relative to export earnings. The World Bank noted the need for improved borrowing terms, expanded export earnings, and enhanced debt management to alleviate refinancing pressures.