Finance minister: Azerbaijan among top countries for low debt-to-GDP ratio

Azerbaijan ranks among the top 20 countries globally with the most favorable ratio of public debt to gross domestic product (GDP), the country's Finance Minister Sahil Babayev said, Report informs.

"Our current public debt stands at 25.4 billion manats (over $14.94 billion), which is equivalent to 19.5% of GDP. This is 2.2 percentage points lower than at the beginning of the year. Our forecast for the end of next year is 21.8%, and for the medium term-by the end of 2029-we project a ratio of 21.2%," he said during discussions on the draft law on the State Budget for 2026 at the Committee for Economic Policy, Industries and Enterprising of Azerbaijan's Milli Majlis.

The minister emphasized that a sharp increase in public debt is not expected in the medium term: "We do not anticipate this figure rising in parallel with GDP growth. Our debt portfolio includes 17.1 billion manats (just under $10.06 billion), or 67.2%, in domestic debt, and 8.3 billion manats, or $4.9 billion, in external debt. The sensitivity of our public debt to exchange rate and foreign market risks is relatively low."

"This year's reforms have extended the average maturity of government bonds by 2.4 times, reaching approximately 3.5 years. This is a key indicator of debt restructuring progress. The share of 7- and 10-year bonds in our portfolio has increased from 0.6% to 30%, which is another sign of the sustainability of Azerbaijan's debt servicing," Babayev added.