Kazakhstan has shown the lowest growth rate of public debt among EAEU countries,the Eurasian Economic Commission reports. The data includes four Union countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Armenia, but excluding Belarus.
As of April 1, 2024, public debt expressed in national currencies increased compared to April 1, 2023, by 13.7% in Kyrgyzstan, 13.1% in Armenia, 10.3% in Russia, and 3.2% in Kazakhstan (a year ago, the growth was 22%).
Although Kazakhstan showed the lowest growth rates, its public debt size is second only to Russia:
- Russia: 26.1 trillion rubles, or $283 billion (in April 2023 it was 23.7 trillion rubles);
- Kazakhstan: 27.2 trillion tenge, or $61 billion (previously 26.4 trillion tenge);
- Armenia: 4.7 trillion Armenian drams, or $12.1 billion (previously 4.2 trillion drams);
- Kyrgyzstan: 558 billion Kyrgyz soms, or $6.2 billion (previously 491 billion soms).
It is noteworthy that due to the change in the ruble-dollar exchange rate, Russia's public debt in rubles increased from 23.7 to 26.1 trillion rubles over the year, while in dollars it decreased from $307 to $283 billion. For the others, public debt in dollars increased: in Kazakhstan by 3.3%, in Kyrgyzstan by 10.7%, and in Armenia by 11%.
In the structure of public debt, external debt predominates in Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, while internal debt is dominant in Kazakhstan and Russia.
As of January 1, 2024, external public debt (converted to US dollars) increased in Armenia (by 0.5%) and Kyrgyzstan (by 1.3%), but decreased in Kazakhstan (by 9.9%) and Russia (by 6.8%).
CentralasianLIGHT.org
May 27, 2024