As of January 1, 2025, Tajikistan’s public debt amounted to US$3.6 billion, the Minister of Finance, Fayziddin Qahhorzoda, told reporters in Dushanbe on February 14.
According to him, the ratio of the public debt to GDP stood at 25.2%, marking the lowest level in the past 15 years.
The minister noted that over US$3.2 billion (89%) of the total public debt is external debt, while more than US$382 million is internal debt.
He emphasized that last year, US$299.2 million was allocated for servicing the external debt, including US$204.3 million for the principal debt and US$94.9 million for interest.
The largest creditor of the country remains China, to which Tajikistan owes approximately US$1 billion.
Other significant debts are owed to the World Bank (US$370 million), the Asian Development Bank (US$260 million), the Islamic Development Bank (US$212 million), and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (US$167 million).
Additionally, the principal debt on Eurobonds (US$500 million) remains outstanding, which were issued in 2017 to finance the completion of the Roghun hydropower power plant (HPP).
Plans for 2025
In the 2025 public budget, provisions have been made for the repayment of public debt amounting to 4.156 billion somonis (US$380 million), which is 8.1% of the total expenditures of the country's main budget.
Approximately 3.977 billion somonis (US$382 million) will be allocated for servicing external debt (3.005 billion somonis for principal debt repayment and 972 million somonis for interest).
In total, the repayment to external creditors for 2025 is scheduled at 5.556 billion somonis (US$508 million).
An additional 1.4 billion somonis is expected to be paid by state-owned enterprises that have received external loans guaranteed by the government.
For servicing internal debt, the budget allocates 178.7 million somonis (106 million somonis for principal debt, 72.7 million somonis for interest).
Moreover, additional off-budget funds of 320.4 million somonis are planned to be used for repaying internal national debt through the rental and sale of assets from the being liquidated Agroinvestbonk and Tojiksodirotbonk.
It is expected that the volume of external debt will significantly increase in the coming year after the parliament ratifies agreements to attract loans from external donors.
In his latest address to a joint meeting of both chambers of parliament, President Emomali Rahmon stated that to complete the Roghun HPP, funds from development partners totaling more than 33 billion somonis (US$3 billion) are expected to be attracted, including concessional loans of 20.5 billion somonis (US$1.9 billion) and grants totaling 12.5 billion somonis (over US$1.1 billion).
