Pakistan's external debt doubles in a decade to $135.1bn, World Bank says
The International Debt Report 2026 puts public and publicly guaranteed borrowing at $107.1bn, with China the largest single creditor at $22.4bn.
Pakistan's total external debt nearly doubled in ten years, climbing from $68.67 billion in 2015 to $135.11 billion in 2025, according to the World Bank's International Debt Report 2026.
Public and publicly guaranteed debt makes up $107.08 billion of the total. A further $17.58 billion is owed by the private sector without a government guarantee, and short-term debt stands at $10.45 billion.
Multilateral institutions hold $56.83 billion of the official debt, other governments $42.43 billion and private creditors $7.80 billion. China is the largest single creditor, with $22.40 billion owed to it. The World Bank accounts for $19.20 billion and the Asian Development Bank for $16.83 billion.
The report sets out how differently the two categories of debt are priced. Loans from official creditors carry an average interest rate of 3.6 percent, an average maturity of 16 years and a four-year grace period before repayment begins. Private creditors charge an average of 8.6 percent, with repayment over three years and a grace period of one year.
In the Middle East and North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan region, the ratio of debt service to exports improved. The region's external debt as a share of gross national income, however, rose to 29.4 percent in 2025 from 26.7 percent a year earlier. The World Bank said this was the largest one-year increase in that ratio recorded in any region, reflecting a growing external debt burden across the region's countries.
The report also records two 2025 transactions. China extended the repayment period on $2 billion of loans to Pakistan. The International Monetary Fund provided $2.3 billion in new financing under its Extended Fund Facility and its Resilience and Sustainability Facility.
Aaj News reported the same headline figures, including the 2015 and 2025 totals, the $107.08 billion official component and the $17.58 billion of non-guaranteed private debt. It gave greater weight to the gap in terms between official and private creditors.
How the reports differ
Both outlets carried the same 2015 and 2025 totals and the same split between official and private debt. BBC Urdu alone reported the regional ratio, saying external debt in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan region rose to 29.4 percent of gross national income from 26.7 percent, and alone recorded China's extension of the repayment period on $2 billion of loans and the IMF's $2.3 billion in new financing under the Extended Fund Facility and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility. Aaj News gave more space to the terms gap between official and private creditors and did not carry the regional ratio or the 2025 rollover and IMF figures.
Pakistan's external debt nearly doubles to $135bn in a decade
The World Bank's International Debt Report 2026 puts public and publicly guaranteed debt at $107.076bn and names China as Pakistan's largest single creditor.
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