MANILA, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' debt rose to 14.62 trillion pesos (roughly 259.7 billion U.S. dollars) as of end-2023, an 8.92 percent increase from the total outstanding debt recorded in end-2022, the Philippines' Bureau of Treasury said on Wednesday.
The bureau said the national government debt increased by 0.74 percent in December due to the net availment and exchange rate adjustments.
With the 2023 full-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.6 percent, the debt-to-GDP ratio improved to 60.2 percent from 60.9 percent at the end of 2022, the bureau said.
It added that the end-of-2023 level also falls below the 61.2 percent target outlined in the medium-term fiscal framework, consistent with efforts to improve debt sustainability.
Of the total debt stock, the bureau said 31.5 percent was external debt, while 68.5 percent were domestic borrowings.
According to the bureau, the Southeast Asian country's external debt amounted to 4.60 trillion pesos (roughly 81.7 billion dollars), a 9.21 percent increase from the end-December 2022 level. ■
