As of the end of August 2024, Armenia’s national debt stood at 4.83 trillion drams ($12.38 billion), reflecting an increase of 35 billion drams ($89.7 million) or 0.7% since the beginning of the year, according to data from the Ministry of Finance.
Compared to August 2023, the national debt grew by 435 billion drams ($1.12 billion) or 9.9%. A significant portion of this increase is attributed to the government’s repurchase of the debts of Nagorno-Karabakh residents from banks, amounting to more than 300 billion drams ($769 million) in December last year. In exchange, the banks received 10-year government bonds.
Debt servicing in the first seven months of 2024 cost the budget 162 billion drams ($415 million), marking a 29% increase compared to the same period last year.
In August 2024, the government continued to raise funds by issuing government treasury bonds, with a primary focus on 5-year bonds offering a yield of 9.89%.
Earlier, BMG reported that, according to the Ministry of Finance's forecast, by the end of 2024, Armenia’s national debt is expected to reach 5.314 trillion drams (over $13.5 billion), representing 50.5% of the country’s GDP, compared to 49.3% of GDP at the end of 2023.
It is important to note that in 2024, 805.2 billion drams (over $2 billion) will be required for debt repayment and servicing. Of this amount, 483 billion drams (over $1.2 billion) will go toward principal repayment, while 322.2 billion drams (over $827 million) will cover interest payments.
