Belarus's gross external debt in 2023 drops 7.3%

MINSK. March 15 (Interfax) - The gross external debt of Belarus as of January 1, 2024 reached $36.88 billion (51.4% of GDP), having decreased 7.3% in 2023, the National Bank of Belarus (NBB) said.

External debt increased 0.6% in Q4 after declining 0.5% in Q3, 2.2% in Q2 and 5.3% in Q1.

On a per capita basis, gross external debt as of January 1 of this year decreased to $4,000 from $4,330 at the beginning of 2023 and $4,530 at the beginning of 2022.

The share of government debt in the country's gross external debt was $16.95 billion (a decrease of 8.4%). Of this amount, loans and borrowings attracted by the government totaled $14.27 billion (a 5.4% decrease), while government debt securities reached $2.67 billion (a 21.7% decrease).

The external debt of banks (including the NBB) totaled $5.5 billion (a 14% decrease), while debt from the non-financial sector was $12.24 billion (a 4.2% decrease). Companies' debt to direct investors increased 3.5% over the year to $2.19 billion.

The net external debt of Belarus (less debt assets placed outside the country) at the beginning of 2024 totaled $9.7 billion (13.5% of GDP), having decreased 27.2% over the past year.

The gross external debt of the public sector in the expanded definition (including local government agencies) decreased 8% to $24.73 billion (34.5% of GDP).

The republic's gold and foreign exchange reserves, totaling $8.13 billion, covered 22% of the gross external debt (19.9% as of January 1, 2023).

Belarus allocated $6.73 billion to service gross external debt in 2023, which is 23.1% more than the previous year. Overdue external debt reached $986.4 million by the start of 2024, a 6.3% increase.

The country's GDP in dollar equivalent for 12 months (from January 1, 2023 to January 1, 2024) reached $71.68 billion, which is 3.2% less than in the previous 12 months, the NBB said.

Belarus' gross external debt decreased 5.3% in 2022 to $39.79 billion (54.3% of GDP) after a decrease of 0.2% in 2021 and increases of 3.5% in 2020 and 3.7% in 2019.