April 29 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's overall gross external debt edged up by an annual 0.4% to some 44.4 billion euro ($47.6 billion) at the end of February, compared to an annual rise of 0.8% in January, the central bank said on Monday.
Gross external debt at the end of the first two months of 2024 represented 43.9% of the gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for the current year, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) said in a monthly report.
In February 2023, Bulgaria's foreign debt was equivalent to 47.1% of last year's GDP.
At some 10.8 billion euro in the review period, the general government gross foreign debt grew by 7.8% compared to the end of February 2023 and was equal to 10.7% of the projected 2024 GDP.
Below are details of Bulgaria's gross foreign debt as of end-February:
|
mln euro |
pct of GDP |
pct change y/y |
General government |
10,796.5 |
10.7 |
7.8 |
Central bank |
1,917.8 |
1.9 |
-3.7 |
Commercial banks |
6,112.8 |
6.0 |
-5.9 |
Other sectors |
12,044.6 |
11.9 |
-1.8 |
Direct investment: intercompany lending |
13,546.2 |
13.4 |
0.4 |
Total |
44,417.9 |
43.9 |
0.4 |
Source: BNB
($ = 0.9334 euro)