Pakistan’s Government Debt Rises by Rs. 8.97 Trillion in FY25
Pakistan’s central government debt grew by Rs. 8.974 trillion (13%) during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, according to data released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The total debt stock reached Rs. 77.888 trillion by the close of FY25, compared to Rs. 68.914 trillion a year earlier.
In June alone, debt increased by 2.4% from the previous month, reflecting the ongoing fiscal challenges faced by the economy.
Breakdown of Domestic and External Debt
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Domestic Debt: Rose 15.5% year-on-year to Rs. 54.471 trillion, with a 1.9% month-on-month rise in June.
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External Debt: Climbed to Rs. 23.417 trillion, showing a 7.6% annual increase and a 3.7% monthly rise.
In US dollar terms, Pakistan’s total external debt and liabilities stood at $134.97 billion by June 30, 2025, compared to $131.04 billion last year.
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Public External Debt: Increased 5.6% to $103.75 billion.
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Multilateral Debt: Rose 8.2% to $42.48 billion.
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IMF Debt: Grew to $9.268 billion, up from $8.378 billion in FY24.
External Debt Servicing
Pakistan paid $18.049 billion in external debt servicing during FY25, compared to $16.932 billion in FY24.
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Principal Repayments: $12.711 billion.
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Interest Payments: $5.338 billion.
The rise in repayments was largely due to the settlement of:
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$2.7 billion in commercial loans,
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$1.47 billion in Naya Pakistan Certificates,
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$1.3 billion in scheduled bank loans.
Debt-to-GDP Ratios
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Debt-to-GDP Ratio: Increased slightly to 73.2% in FY25, as debt outpaced nominal GDP growth of 8%.
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External Debt-to-GDP Ratio: Stayed at a seven-year low.
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Debt Servicing to Exports Ratio: Improved marginally to 34%, compared to 35% in FY24.
Topline Securities noted that external debt servicing as a share of foreign exchange reserves reached 115% in FY25, though this is expected to ease in FY26 as reserves strengthen.
SBP and Government Repayments
The government repaid over Rs. 2.6 trillion to the SBP in FY25, including Rs. 1.6 trillion in early repayments. The SBP also reported a net profit of Rs. 2.5 trillion, of which Rs. 2.428 trillion was transferred to the government.
