As of January 1, 2023, the balance of public debt amounted to $29.2 billion and decreased to 36.4% in comparison with the gross domestic product (GDP) during 2022, the Ministry of Economy and Finance stated in its "Review of the state and dynamics of the state debt of the Republic of Uzbekistan" at the end of 2022.
By the end of 2022, the state external debt was $25.9 billion, and the state internal debt was $3.3 billion. Although the national debt increased by $2.9 billion during 2022, the national debt-to-GDP ratio decreased due to the rapid growth of $11.1 billion in GDP in dollar terms.
The ratio of public debt to GDP was 38% at the end of 2021, and 36.4% at the end of 2022. In the fourth quarter of 2022, the state debt increased by $3 billion (from 26.2 to $29.2 billion), $2.7 billion of the $3 billion is foreign debt.
According to the IMF report on the country's economy, Uzbekistan's public debt is currently at a "moderate" level.
It should be recalled that in accordance with the law "On the State Budget of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2022", the sum of the state debt attracted under the guarantee of Uzbekistan is determined not to exceed 60% of the annual forecast indicator of the GDP.
During 2022, the limited volume of new contracts to be signed on behalf of Uzbekistan or under the guarantee of attracting foreign debt was set at $4.5 billion, and the limited net volume of state securities issued on behalf of the Republic of Uzbekistan was set at 12 trillion soums.
"During 2022, 23 new state external debt agreements with a total value of $4.5 billion (including $2.5 billion to support the state budget) were signed, and state securities with a net volume of 12 trillion soums were issued to finance the state budget," the ministry explained.
The foreign debt funds raised in 2022 (23 foreign debt agreements in the amount of 4 billion 486 million dollars) were attracted to finance energy, providing the population with clean drinking water and sewage, developing highways, railways and other important social and strategic projects; they were given by international financial institutions such as the World Bank, the EBRD, the French Development Agency, the ADB, and the AIIB on the basis of long-term loans on preferential terms.
State's internal debt
The balance of public debt increased by $599.4 million in 2022 and amounted to $3.3 billion as of January 1, 2023 (it was $2.73 billion at the end of 2021), or 4.1% of GDP. Of this, 13 trillion soums correspond to state securities, and $2.16 billion to the debt guaranteed by the state and repayable from the state budget in terms of internal obligations.
State's foreign debt
The balance of public external debt increased by $2.4 billion in 2022 and reached $25.9 billion as of January 1, 2023, or 32.25% of GDP. Out of this, the foreign debt raised on behalf of Uzbekistan amounted to $19.8 billion or 76.5% of the state's foreign debt, and the foreign debt raised under Uzbekistan's guarantee amounted to $6.1 billion or 23.5% of the state's foreign debt.
