Mashreka Jahan Mona

Bangladesh's foreign debt has once again exceeded 100 billion or 10000 million US dollars. Earlier, for the first time in December last year, the external debt position crossed $100 billion.

According to the latest data released by Bangladesh Bank, the foreign debt status of the public and private sector at the end of June this year (fiscal year) was 103.79 billion or 10 thousand 379 million dollars. This amount is equal to 12 lakh 45 thousand 480 crores of Bangladeshi currency (120 rupees per dollar).

According to the data of the Central Bank, the foreign debt position was 99.31 billion or 9 thousand 931 million dollars in the last month of March. As such, the foreign debt position has increased by 4.48 billion dollars in the last three months.

Before this, in December 2023, the amount of foreign debt exceeded 100 billion or 10 thousand billion US dollars for the first time. At that time, the foreign debt status in the public and private sector was 100.64 billion or 10 thousand 64 million dollars. In the following three months, the external debt position decreased slightly. At the end of last March, it stood at 9 thousand 931 million dollars. However, in the next three months, foreign debt increased again and exceeded $100 billion.

According to the data of Bangladesh Bank, the foreign debt status at the end of 2015-16 fiscal year was 41.17 billion or 4 thousand 117 million dollars. That is, the foreign debt of Bangladesh has increased more than twice in the last 9 years.

According to the latest report of Census and Household Census, the population of the country is currently 16.98 million. Accordingly, at the end of last June, per capita foreign debt stood at 611 dollars (about 73 thousand taka). 9 years ago it was a little over $257.

Out of the total external debt, 80 percent is owed to the public sector and nearly 20 percent to the private sector. At the end of last June, the foreign debt position of the public sector was 8 thousand 321 million dollars. In the previous three months, the foreign debt position of the public sector was 7 thousand 901 billion dollars.

That is, in the last three months of the last financial year, the foreign debt status of the public sector has increased by 5.32 percent. On the other hand, at the end of last June, the debt status of the private sector stood at 2,570 million dollars, which was 2,290 million dollars in March.