Bangladesh’s public and private sector foreign debt increased again to about $104 billion or $10,379 million, which is about Tk 1,245,477 million in Bangladeshi currency. For the first time last December, this debt exceeded $100 billion, when the debt stood at $100.64 billion. This debt fell slightly to $99.31 billion in March but rebounded to close to $104 billion at the end of June.

At present, foreign debt amounts to more than five times the total foreign exchange reserves of the country. According to Bangladesh Bank data, the country’s reserves currently stand at $19.38 billion, which has come down after the recent Asian Clearing Union (ACU) payment of $137 million. The collapse in reserves is due to global economic challenges, weak policies and massive money laundering during the government, among other reasons.

According to the data published by Bangladesh Bank, the amount of foreign debt in the public sector is 83.21 billion dollars, which was 79.69 billion dollars last December. Credit to the private sector stood at $20.57 billion, up slightly from $20.95 billion six months ago. At the end of the fiscal year 2015-16, the country’s total external debt position was 41.17 billion dollars, which means that this debt has almost doubled in the last 9 years.

Borrowing rates have increased, especially for implementation of large infrastructure projects. According to the 2023 census and household census data, the population of Bangladesh is about 16.98 million. Accordingly, per capita foreign debt stood at $611, up from $257 9 years ago. That is, the per capita debt has also increased significantly during this period.

According to an analysis by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bangladesh’s foreign debt is still at a sustainable level relative to its gross domestic product (GDP), which is about 20 percent of GDP. However, experts have warned that if export earnings, repatriation earnings and foreign investment are not increased as well as fiscal revenue is not increased, foreign debt repayment could lead to an economic crisis. As a result of becoming a lower middle income country, Bangladesh now also has to take commercial loans at higher interest rates, which may pose a challenge in the future. Economists always recommend taking foreign loans with easy terms and low interest.