KARACHI: The central government’s total domestic and external debt stock rose by 8.6% during the first 10 months of this fiscal year (FY24).
According to the latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the federal government’s total domestic and external debt reached Rs 66.083 trillion at the end of April 2024, up from Rs 60.841 trillion in June 2023, indicating an increase of Rs5.242 trillion.
The federal government’s domestic debt surged to Rs 44.48 trillion in April 2024, compared to Rs 38.810 trillion in June 2023.
From July to April of FY24, the major increase was seen in domestic debt, which rose by 14.6 percent or Rs 5.671 trillion.
Within domestic debt, long-term debt increased by 20 percent to Rs 35.22 trillion at the end of April 2024, up from Rs 29.332 trillion in June 2023. This included Rs 32 trillion of permanent debt, Rs 2.79 trillion of unfunded debt, and Rs 373 billion of foreign currency loans.
During the same period, short-term domestic debt slightly decreased by 1.8 percent to Rs 9.166 trillion at the end of April 2024.
Similarly, the federal government’s external debt declined by 2% from Rs 22.031 trillion in June 2023 to Rs 21.602 trillion in April 2024.
This included Rs21.499 trillion of long-term external debt and Rs 102 billion of short-term debt. The US dollar’s Weighted Average Customer Exchange Rates were Rs286.3905 in June 2023 and Rs278.3527 in April 2024.
