Kathmandu – Nepal’s public debt has exceeded Rs 2.74 trillion, according to the Public Debt Management Office. By the end of Bhadra (mid-September), the total public debt reached Rs 2.743 trillion. Based on Nepal’s 2021 population, the per capita debt burden stood at Rs 94,065 by that time.

At the end of Ashad (mid-July), per capita debt was Rs 91,688. Out of the total debt as of Bhadra, domestic borrowing accounted for Rs 1.281 trillion, while external borrowing stood at Rs 1.461 trillion. Public debt now makes up about 44.92 percent of Nepal’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The share of domestic debt is 20.99 percent of GDP, and external debt is 23.93 percent. In terms of composition, domestic debt makes up 46.72 percent of the total, while external debt accounts for 53.28 percent.

In the first two months of this fiscal year, the government borrowed Rs 79.15 billion and repaid Rs 65.07 billion. However, the weakening Nepali currency has sharply increased the burden of external debt. Exchange rate fluctuations in Bhadra alone added an additional liability of Rs 55.23 billion. As a result, the debt that stood at Rs 2.674 trillion in Ashad surged close to Rs 2.74 trillion within two months.

The government has set a target to raise Rs 595.66 billion in public debt this fiscal year, of which Rs 362 billion is planned through domestic borrowing and Rs 233 billion through external sources. By Bhadra, the government had raised Rs 70 billion domestically and Rs 9.15 billion externally. This represents 19.34 percent of the domestic borrowing target and just 3.92 percent of the external borrowing goal.

Debt repayment also remains significant. The annual budget has allocated Rs 411.01 billion for debt servicing. By Bhadra, Rs 78.67 billion had already been spent, equivalent to 19.14 percent of the yearly allocation.

During this period, Rs 56.40 billion was paid as principal and Rs 11.27 billion as interest on domestic debt. For external debt, Rs 8.67 billion went to principal repayment and Rs 2.32 billion to interest. Altogether, the government paid Rs 65.07 billion in principal and Rs 13.60 billion in interest within the two months.