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Gross foreign debt tops $23 billion

Belarus’ gross foreign debt rose by more than $1.1 billion, or five percent, to $23,171 million in the first six months of this year. The amount was equal to 45.5 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

As a representative of the National Bank of Belarus told BelaPAN, the country’s gross external debt increased by $927.5 million, or 4.2 percent, in the second quarter of this year.

The gross foreign debt rose to $2,447 per capita on July 1 from $2,327 on January 1 and $1,596 at the beginning of 2009.

The state foreign debt rose by seven percent from January through June to $8,946.8 million, the National Bank said.

Private banks’ external debts rose by 16.2 percent to $4,127 million in the period, while other economic sectors’ foreign debt climbed by 0.3 percent to $8,950.4 million.

According to the National Bank, $2,470.3 million, or 10.5 percent of GDP, was spent on servicing the country’s foreign debt.

Belarus’ gross external debt rose by $6,875.8 million to $22,029.9 million last year.