Egypt’s external debt climbed to US$168.06 billion in 2023, up from US$163.09 billion a year earlier, the World Bank said in its latest International Debt Report.
The country’s external liabilities have more than tripled over the past decade, rising from US$46.5 billion in 2013 as Cairo turned increasingly to foreign borrowing to cover financing gaps.
Long-term external debt reached US$119.26 billion in 2023, compared with US$111.09 billion the previous year. Public and publicly guaranteed debt accounted for the vast bulk at US$117.38 billion, including US$67.86 billion owed to official creditors mainly multilateral and bilateral lenders and US$49.52 billion owed to private creditors.
Private-sector debt included US$29.8 billion in bonds and US$19.73 billion owed to commercial banks and other lenders. Short-term external debt edged down to US$29.48 billion from US$30.25 billion in 2022.
Egypt’s use of IMF credit and Special Drawing Rights declined to US$19.32 billion in 2023 from US$21.75 billion in 2022, though overall obligations to the Fund have climbed steadily since 2016, reaching about US$30 billion.
Several key debt indicators deteriorated. External debt rose to 44.4 percent of gross national income in 2023, up from 35.4 percent the year before. The debt-service-to-exports ratio jumped to 30.4% from 23 percent, while external debt amounted to 238.6 percent of exports, compared with 210.5 percent in 2022.
The World Bank warned that developing countries face mounting debt stress, noting that between 2022 and 2024 they would pay more in debt service than they receive in new financing the largest gap in at least five decades.
“Despite the improvement in global financial conditions, developing countries face risks from high levels of debt,” said Indermit Gill, the Bank’s chief economist. He noted that interest rates on new borrowing now average about 10 percent, nearly double pre-2020 levels.
Developing economies are expected to pay a record US$415 billion in interest in 2024, diverting funds from essential sectors such as health and education. With access to affordable external financing tightening, many governments have turned to domestic markets a shift that could crowd out private lending and raise refinancing risks due to shorter maturities.
The World Bank urged policymakers to reinforce fiscal discipline and prioritise long-term debt sustainability as global financial conditions evolve.
