Bangladesh’s external debt reaches $78.22bn

Bangladesh’s total outstanding external debt stood at $78.22 billion as of March 2026, with concessional loans making up nearly 62% of the total borrowing, Finance Minister Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury told Parliament on Wednesday.

Replying to a written question from BNP lawmaker Md Mustafizur Rahman Babul, the finance minister said the country’s external debt amounted to $78,223.448 million at the end of March this year.

Of the total external debt, concessional loans accounted for 61.97% , while non-concessional loans made up the remaining 38.03% , he said.

The finance minister acknowledged that managing the country’s external debt portfolio has become increasingly challenging due to changing borrowing conditions and rising repayment obligations.

He said Bangladesh’s transition from a low-income country to a lower-middle-income country under the World Bank classification in 2015 has gradually reduced access to highly concessional financing. At the same time, the volume of external borrowing has increased, which is expected to raise future debt servicing costs, including principal and interest payments.

To address these challenges, the government has adopted several precautionary measures, Khasru said.

He said new proposals for foreign loans and development projects are being reviewed more strictly to prevent the use of high-cost external financing for unnecessary or low-priority projects.

The minister said the government has also strengthened monitoring of externally funded projects to prevent delays in implementation and repeated cost escalation.

He added that efforts are underway to update the Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy (MTDS), while a Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) is being carried out to ensure long-term stability in debt management.

Khasru further informed the House that the government will soon prepare a plan for institutional and legal reforms to improve the effectiveness of public debt management.

He said the measures are aimed at strengthening Bangladesh’s ability to manage growing external debt obligations while maintaining fiscal discipline and economic stability.

TZ