Staff Reporter :
Bangladesh’s foreign debt servicing bill has crossed $4 billion for the first time in the fiscal year 2024-25, marking a sharp rise in repayment pressure as external aid commitments continue to fall.
The country paid just over $4 billion in the recently concluded fiscal year, a 21 percent jump from $3.37 billion the year before, according to provisional data from the Economic Relations Division (ERD) released on Sunday.
The growing strain of these repayments comes as Bangladesh receives less foreign assistance than in previous years, compounding concerns over its external financial position.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s overall external debt rose by around 6.0 per cent to US$104.76 billion in March 2025, which was around $6.0 billion higher from the corresponding period a year ago when the volume was $98.93 billion, according to the latest data from the Bangladesh Bank.
The rise is mainly attributed to the public sector’s growing appetite for foreign funds.
Since March last year, the outstanding figure of foreign debts enhanced slightly to $103.41 billion in June and $104.41 billion in September last year. It dropped a little to $103.74 billion by the end of December 2024, according to the data.
The official data showed that long-term debt stood at $91.92 billion, while short-term borrowing accounted for $12.84 billion. The public sector incurred the maximum of the debt, $84.89 billion, with the remaining $19.87 billion borrowed by the country’s private sector.
In terms of country-wise external debts, China is the leading creditor nation, with Bangladesh owing $3.35 billion followed by the Netherlands ($1.29 billion), the United Kingdom ($1.14 billion), and the United States of America ($0.79 billion).
