Guyana’s public debt jumps to US$7.7B

Jan 27, 2026 News

…as Govt. increases borrowing amid development push

By Renay Sambach

(Kaieteur News) – Guyana’s total Public and Publicly Guaranteed (PPG) debt rose sharply to US$7.7 billion at the end of 2025, up from US$5.993 billion a year earlier, Senior Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, announced on Monday.

He was at the time presenting the PPP/C Government’s $1.5 trillion national budget for 2026. Delivering a more than six-hour budget presentation at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Dr. Singh said the increase reflects continued fiscal discipline alongside the government’s aggressive development drive. “Our government continues to balance the financing of our transformation agenda with the preservation of fiscal and debt sustainability,” Singh told the National Assembly. “We remain committed to the responsible and transparent management of public debt within prudent cost and risk parameters.”

He noted that the PPP government has demonstrated a well-established track record since it resumed office in 2020. He reported that total PPG debt stood at US$7.7 billion at the end of 2025, reflecting positive net inflows from both external and domestic financing sources. Domestic PPG debt accounted for 62.3% of the total, amounting to US$4.8 billion, while external PPG debt comprised 37.7%, or US$2.9 billion.

According to Minister Singh, multilateral creditors held the largest share of external PPG debt at 64%, followed by bilateral creditors at 30.1% and private creditors at 5.9%. On the domestic side, treasury bills (T-Bills) dominated the debt profile, accounting for 82.5%, an increase of 6.2% from a year earlier. Debentures accounted for the remaining 17.5%.

Moreover, the finance minister stated that Guyana’s debt sustainability indicators have continued to improve. He outlined that since 2020, the ratio of total PPG debt to gross domestic product (GDP) declined from 47.4% to 28.6% at the end of 2025.

He further stated that total debt service payments for 2025 amounted to US$264.6 million, with US$176.6 million paid to external creditors and US$88 million to domestic creditors. Notably, Dr Singh stated that the share of external debt service expanded to 66.7%, mainly as a result of an increase in bilateral payments. Meanwhile, domestic debt service contracted to 33.3%.

It was also disclosed that 5.5% of Government revenue went towards debt service in 2025, a decrease from 8.5% in 2020. “This indicates a strong and improving capacity to meet our financial commitments as they come due, and implies a greater proportion of public funds being available for fiscal purposes other than debt service,” Dr Singh said.

Notably, he also stated that Guyana’s debt is projected to remain sustainable into the medium-term, even as government advances its comprehensive development and transformation programme.

The figures presented by Dr Singh represents a sharp increase from the end of 2024. The latest figures represent a sharp increase from the end of 2024, when Guyana’s total PPG debt stood at US$5.993 billion, as disclosed during the 2025 Budget presentation. At that time, external PPG debt reached US$2.2 billion, while domestic PPG debt was US$3.7 billion.

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Ashni Singh, borrowing, budget, Debt

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