Bulgarian Debt Increased by 6.5% to Total of Over 37 Bln Euros Compared to One Year Ago

Bulgaria's gross external debt (private and public) continues to grow as part of gross domestic product (GDP). At the end of January, it was 37.613 billion euros, an increase of 6.5% in one year. Thus, it represents 58.2% of the country's projected GDP, according to preliminary data from the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB).

The central bank said that at the end of last year, gross external debt was 38.445 billion euros, or 63.4% of GDP.

As of January 31, long-term liabilities amounted to EUR 29.262 billion and increased by 9.7% in one year.

The BNB estimates that short-term external debt decreased by 3.4% compared to January 2020 to EUR 8.351 billion.

Banks' external liabilities amounted to EUR 4.486 billion and decreased by 3.3% compared to January 2020.

External liabilities of businesses and households amounted to EUR 11.059 billion and decreased by 1.3% compared to a year earlier.

Net external debt at the end of the month was negative at 2.985 billion euros, down 28.3% from the end of 2020 (negative value of 2.327 billion euros).

The decrease is due to a larger decrease in gross external debt (by 2.2%) compared to that of gross external assets (by 0.4%).

Net external debt decreased by EUR 2.203 billion compared to January 2020 (negative value of EUR 781.9 million).