Tunisia’s external public debt is on a steady downward trajectory, according to a recent report from the Ministry of Finance. The data, linked to the draft 2026 State Budget, shows external debt fell to TND 62,539 million in 2024, down from TND 66,874 million in 2023. This decline is projected to continue, dropping to TND 56,971 million in 2025 and TND 56,486 million in 2026.
However, this positive trend in external debt is overshadowed by the rapid growth of the nation’s total public debt. The report projects the total debt stock will swell to TND 156,704 million by the end of 2026, a significant increase of TND 11,672 million from the TND 145,032 million forecast for 2025.
The Ministry attributes this increase primarily to two factors: the need to finance the state budget deficit, which accounts for TND 11,015 million of the rise, and the negative impact of exchange rate fluctuations, estimated at TND 650 million.
Debt-to-GDP Ratio Shows Slight Improvement
Despite the growing debt stock in absolute terms, the debt burden relative to the size of the economy is expected to see a slight improvement. The public debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to be 83.41% by the end of 2026, down from 84.02% forecast for 2025 and the 84.9% recorded in 2024. This suggests that economic growth is expected to outpace the accumulation of new debt.
TunisianMonitorOnline (Editorial Staff)
