Bangladesh’s external debt has risen to approximately $78 billion as of February 2026, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury informed parliament, underscoring growing concerns over the country’s future repayment burden.
Speaking in the Jatiya Sangsad, the minister said the government continues to meet its foreign debt obligations through annual budgetary allocations that cover both principal and interest payments. However, the pace of borrowing in recent years has drawn attention to long-term sustainability.
According to data presented in parliament, Bangladesh borrowed nearly $86 billion in foreign loans between the 2008–09 fiscal year and 2025–26, while repaying just over $31 billion during the same period. This has led to a significant net increase in external debt, largely driven by infrastructure development projects and global economic shocks.
The country now faces a steep repayment schedule. Bangladesh is expected to spend around $26 billion on external debt servicing between 2026 and 2030—an amount equal to nearly two-thirds of what it repaid over the past five decades. Over a longer period, total repayments could reach $51 billion by 2035, with annual obligations projected to peak at about $5.5 billion toward the end of the decade.
Although the external debt-to-GDP ratio stands at around 19 percent—considered manageable by international standards—economists caution that underlying fiscal indicators are becoming strained. The debt servicing-to-revenue ratio has climbed to 16.5 percent, approaching the risk threshold set by the International Monetary Fund, reflecting mounting pressure on government finances amid relatively weak revenue mobilisation.
