The central government debt of Pakistan has swelled by 12 per cent compared to last year to reach nearly Rs76.05 trillion at the end of May, according to statistics released by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
In its debt bulletin issued on Friday, the SBP reported the central government debt at Rs76.045tr, showing an increase of more than Rs8.31tr (12.3pc) in a year, when it stood at Rs67.73tr in May 2024.
The domestic debt stood at Rs53.46tr, posting a year-on-year growth of 15.9pc. The external debt was stated as nearly Rs22.59tr, 4.52pc higher than the same month last year.
In just a month from April to May, the central government debt grew by Rs1.11tr, slightly higher than the Rs1.035tr increase recorded in the same period of 2024.
Pakistan’s total debt and liabilities had stood at Rs89.83tr at the end of March, according to the data released by the SBP in May. The SBP data showed that Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) contributed around Rs35.24tr to the public debt – surging from Rs27.70tr in May 2024 – compared to Rs8.04tr by the market treasury bills, which have declined from Rs9.44tr last year. SBP data from earlier this year showed that PIBs’ long-term contribution to the central government’s debt had increased compared to the short-term treasury bills.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb had said the government saved Rs850bn through refinancing while the central government’s debt increased by Rs5.36tr to Rs52.52tr in April 2025.
In contrast, the central government’s domestic debt stood at Rs47.16tr in June 2024.
In the first nine months of the previous fiscal year (July 2024-March 2025), there was an increase of Rs4.8tr in the domestic debt. The growth was largely driven by higher mobilisation through long-term instruments, while short-term and other components saw a decline.