The data released by the Ministry of Finance (MoF) recently, indicated that Lebanon’s gross public debt hit $98.19B in July 2021, thereby recording an annual increase of 4.7%.
The rise is mainly attributed to the annual increase in both local and foreign currency debt by 3.38% and 7.05%, respectively. In details, debt in local currency (denominated in LBP) stood at $60.71B in July 2021. As such, domestic debt constituted 61.83% of the total public debt.
Meanwhile, total debt denominated in foreign currency (namely in USD) reached $37.48B over the same period. Therefore, total foreign debt grasped a stake of 38.17% of the total public debt by July 2021. It is worth mentioning that $7.39B represents the unpaid Eurobonds, their coupons and accrued interests, due to the default on government Eurobonds in March 2020.
Looking at net domestic debt, which excludes public sector deposits with the central bank and commercial banks, it decreased by 1.07% YTD to $48.98 in July 2021.
The Lebanese debt has always represented a burden on the Lebanese economy even before the financial crisis. In fact, the government’s debt is the highest in the world at over 300% of GDP today. The political conflicts between political parties inside the government are making the situation even worse, as this government should work “day and night” to deal with the economic crisis and to bring back stability and growth, the first order of business of which is to achieve an agreement with the IMF.
Domestic and Foreign Debt by July ($B)
