How Much Has Public Debt Increased? Finance Minister Explains

The public debt of Armenia amounted to 4 trillion 430 billion drams (9 billion 226 million dollars) as of the end of 2021. This was stated by the Minister of Finance Tigran Khachatryan during the preliminary discussion of the annual report on the execution of the 2021 state budget in the National Assembly today, where he presented the main economic indicators of the previous year.

"The external debt is 2 trillion 972 billion, and the internal debt is 1 trillion 237 billion drams," said the minister. Khachatryan noted that compared to 2020, public debt has increased by 6.4 percent.

"We continue to have an exceedingly large weight in our external currency loan portfolio. Among these, the cooperation with our partners from the International Development Association, part of the World Bank group, holds significant importance, accounting for 20 percent of our external debt. The second is the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which has funded 18.4 percent. The European Investment Bank and the Eurasian Development Bank also hold significant shares, and the German KFW bank has around 6 percent," said Khachatryan.

The Finance Minister highlighted that, in terms of bilateral relations, Russia is in the first place, which has an actively managed portfolio of external debt in Armenia, amounting to about 7 percent. The portfolio of the Japanese government is 4.3 percent, while that of France is 3.2 percent.

In terms of debt sustainability, the finance minister emphasized the importance of having at least 25 percent of the debt expressed in national currency to reduce dependence on the dollar's exchange rate. According to him, at this moment, 28.8 percent of the structure of Armenia's public debt consists of debts in drams.

Speaking about debt repayment, Tigran Khachatryan mentioned that the heaviest year for debt repayment will be 2025, when the deadline for the maturity of eurobonds will come due.