KATHMANDU, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's public debt has surpassed 3 trillion Nepali rupees for the first time, reflecting a rapid increase in the country's debt burden over the past decade, the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO) said.
The government's total outstanding debt reached 3.009 trillion Nepali rupees (about 19.77 billion U.S. dollars) by the end of the first quarter of the current fiscal year 2026-27 that began in mid-July, accounting for 45.59 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), according to the PDMO's latest statistics released on Thursday.
Of the total outstanding debt, foreign debt accounted for 53.13 percent, while domestic debt made up the remaining 46.87 percent.
Over the past decade, Nepal's public debt has risen rapidly as the country has increasingly relied on domestic and foreign borrowing to meet its financing needs, particularly following the devastating earthquake in 2015 and the COVID-19 pandemic.
In fiscal year 2016-17, Nepal's total public debt stood at just 697.68 billion Nepali rupees, equivalent to 26.84 percent of GDP at the time, according to the PDMO. As the country relied on public borrowing to finance post-earthquake reconstruction, its public debt crossed the 1 trillion rupee mark in fiscal year 2018-19 and continued to rise in subsequent years.
Public debt is expected to increase further in fiscal year 2026-27 as the government mobilizes additional resources for reconstruction and recovery following the devastating floods on Aug. 26, the Asian Development Bank said in its Asian Development Outlook 2026, released in September.
"Despite higher financing needs, Nepal remains at low risk of debt distress," the report said. ■
