Total external debt amounts to USD 23.5 billion which is 95.7 percent of the 2022 GDP, reads the report published by the National Bank of Georgia (NBG).
“Total external debt statistics are harmonized with the balance of payments. It includes the external debt of the state (government sector, state-owned enterprises and the National Bank) and private sector (banking and other sectors). External debt statistics are produced in accordance with the methodology developed by the International Monetary Fund, “External Debt Statistics, Guide for Compilers and Users” – 2003.
As of December 31, 2022, the total foreign debt of Georgia amounted to USD 23.5 billion (63.6 billion GEL), which is 95.7 percent of the 2022 GDP. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the total foreign debt of Georgia increased by USD 1.4 billion. From this, due to exchange rate change, the debt is 764.2 mln. It increased by USD, due to the operational change – 568.1 million. 66.3 million in USD and due to price changes. increased by USD; And due to other changes, the debt is USD 8.7 million.
State external debt amounted to USD 10.6 billion (28.7 billion GEL), which is 43.2% of GDP. Of this, the debt of the government sector is USD 8.1 billion (GEL 21.8 billion; 32.8% of GDP), liabilities of the National Bank – USD 896.2 million (GEL 2.4 billion; 3.6% of GDP), and bonds and loans of state enterprises, respectively, USD 440.0 million (1.2 billion GEL; 1.8% of GDP) and USD 1.2 billion (USD 3.3 billion; 5.0% of GDP).
The external debt of the banking sector amounted to USD 6.5 billion (GEL 17.5 billion; 26.4 percent of GDP), the external debt of other sectors – USD 4.7 billion (GEL 12.6 billion; 19.0 percent of GDP) and the intercompany debt – USD 3.4 billion ( GEL 9.3 billion; 13.9% of GDP). 89.3% of the total external debt is denominated in foreign currency. Among them, 50.7% of the debt is denominated in USD, and EUR 27.1 in euros.
As of December 31, 2022, the net foreign debt of Georgia amounted to USD 12.5 billion (33.7 billion GEL), which is 50.6% of the 2022 GDP. From this, the net foreign debt of the state sector is USD 5.7 billion (GEL 15.5 billion), which is 23.3% of GDP.
In 4Q2022, the foreign debt of the National Bank of Georgia increased by USD 28.0 million. From this, due to exchange rate change, the debt is 34.5 mln. increased by USD, and due to the operational change, the external liabilities of the National Bank decreased by USD 6.5 million. At the end of 2022, the total foreign liabilities of the National Bank amounted to USD 896.2 million. Of this, USD 462.1 million is distributed special borrowing right (SRB), which has no maturity date and practically, the obligation to pay it will not arise as long as Georgia is a member of the International Monetary Fund,” reads the report.
