The outstanding public debt increased by 10%, to 117.1 billion dinars, at the end of February 2023, compared to the same period last year, according to data published by the Finance Ministry Wednesday. The domestic debt accounted for 43.3% of the total outstanding debt, while the external debt constituted 56.7%. The external debt is contracted mainly within the framework of bilateral cooperation agreements (60.3%), and to a lesser extent from the financial market (21.3%) and bilateral cooperation agreements (18.4%). As for public debt service, it decreased by nearly 36%, from 2.2 billion dinars at the end of February 2022, to 1.4 billion dinars in February 2023, following the fall of the domestic debt by 72% to 384 MD, while the external debt kept its upward trend to 1 billion dinars (+19.2%). The statistics of the Ministry of Finance showed that the sum allocated to the repayment of the interests of the debt stood at 855 MD, thus exceeding the budget reserved for the repayment of the principal of the debt (605 MD), which is down by 56.7%, in February 2023.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse