Pakistan foreign debt: $16bn interest paid in four years
State Bank Governor Jameel Ahmed said Pakistan foreign debt stands near $107 billion, with the yearly interest bill expected to fall below $3 billion next year.
Pakistan paid about $16 billion in interest on foreign loans over four years, or roughly $4 billion a year, SBP Governor Jameel Ahmed said.
Total external debt is around $107 billion, up only about $5–6 billion over those four years.
About $10–11 billion of the interest was paid with dollars the SBP bought from the market, not with new borrowing.
Foreign exchange reserves rose from about $3 billion in early 2023 to around $21.5 billion; the SBP aims for $23 billion by December 2026.
About 80% of external debt now comes from multilateral and bilateral lenders, up from about 55% in early 2023.