TEHRAN – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest Regional Economic Outlook report for the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia has ranked Iran 26th among the countries of the mentioned regions in terms of foreign debt.

Based on IMF data, Iran’s external debt has accounted for only three percent of the country's Nominal gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023, while the ratio of the country’s foreign debt to the GDP was 3.2 percent in 2022.

Among the 27 countries reviewed in this report, Iran is ranked 26th in terms of the ratio of foreign debt to GDP. In other words, only one country had less foreign debt compared to Iran, and that is Algeria. The ratio of foreign debt to the gross domestic product of Algeria this year is estimated at 1.4 percent.

The average ratio of the countries of the region's debt to their total gross domestic product this year is estimated at 46 percent. The ratio of the debt of oil exporting countries in the region to their GDP in 2023 has also been announced as 42.4 percent.

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.

The ratio of Iran's foreign debt to GDP is very insignificant and considering this figure, Iran is among the countries with the lowest amount of foreign debt in the world due to the U.S. sanctions and their consequent financial restrictions.

Having external debts is an important economic indicator globally, but it is not currently important for Iran since the country has almost no foreign debts.

Iran’s external debt has been falling in recent years following a downward trend.

Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) for Economic Affairs Mohammad Shirijian has said Iran's foreign currency reserves are increasing due to the growth of oil and non-oil exports, and Iran has no foreign debt.

Shirijian made the remarks in a meeting between the governors of the central banks of the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (MENAP) with the head of the Middle East and Central Asia (MCD) Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday.

Referring to the balanced growth of different economic sectors of Iran and increasing the resilience of the country's economy against the recent global shocks, the official said the country’s real GDP grew by four percent in 2022, and its growth rate increased to 5.3 percent and 6.2 percent in the first and second quarters of 2023, respectively.

EF/MA