TEHRAN – Iran has been ranked the world’s seventh country in terms of the lowest foreign debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio, IRNA reported on Wednesday, citing established international sources.

As reported, Brunei, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Turkmenistan, New Caledonia, Nigeria, Iran, Algeria, Greenland, and the Virgin Islands are the world’s top 10 countries with the lowest foreign debt to GDP ratio, respectively.

According to the latest statistics released by international entities, Iran's foreign debt currently stands at about $7.12 billion, which means the per capita share of each Iranian is $90.

The ratio of Iran's foreign debt to its GDP is only two percent.

The figure is 32 percent for Russia, 33 percent for South Korea, 59 percent for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), 63 percent for Turkey, 68 percent for Malaysia, 83 percent for Qatar, and 96 percent for Japan.

In some countries, such as the United States, Australia, Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Switzerland, the UK, and Singapore, the amount of foreign debt is even higher than their GDP.

Back in February, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) had put the country’s foreign debt at $9.067 billion by the end of the eighth month of the previous Iranian calendar year (November 21, 2021).

Of the total foreign debt, $6.619 billion was mid-term and long-term debts while $2.447 billion was short-term debts, the data indicated, IRIB reported.

External debt is the portion of a country's debt that is borrowed from foreign lenders including commercial banks, governments, or international financial institutions. These loans, including interest, must usually be paid in the currency in which the loan was made.

Foreign debt as a percentage of GDP is the ratio between the debt a country owes to non-resident creditors and its nominal GDP.

EF/MA