Russia's foreign debt-to-GDP ratio falls sharply, lowest in more than 20 years

Data from central banks and general statistical offices of various countries show that Russia's foreign debt-to-GDP ratio in 2022 fell by 10 percentage points to 16.6%, the lowest level since 2002.

Russian ruble currency. Photo: AA/TTXVN

At a meeting on economic issues on April 11, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the positive trends of the Russian economy are being consolidated, since the beginning of April, retail sales have increased by nearly 25%.

Speaking at the televised meeting, President Putin affirmed that "the Russian economy continues to develop positively within the framework of a new growth model," a Moscow correspondent said.

Specifically, Russia's April GDP will increase significantly in real terms. In the context of economic growth, the Government has adjusted the socio-economic development forecast towards improvement.

President Putin noted that rail transport has increased, rising to 3.6% in April from around 2% in March.

The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) in March reached 56.8 points.

President Putin stressed that this "is the third highest value in history and directly speaks to the growing optimism of domestic business".

Among major economies over the same period, China recorded the lowest average external debt-to-GDP ratio of 13.7%, down from 15.4% to 13.7%. India's ratio was 19.1%.

By the end of 2022, European countries have the most unsustainable debt ratios.

Topping the list of 10 countries with the highest foreign debt to GDP are the Netherlands (380.5%), the UK (287%) and Switzerland (280.5%), followed by France, Belgium, Spain, Sweden, Germany, Norway and Italy, all over 130%.

In addition, the ratio of foreign debt to GDP increased in 5/25 countries, with the strongest increase in Japan, up 10% to 104%.

In absolute terms, the seven countries that increased their external debt were Norway, the United States and South Korea - by 5%, Türkiye - by 4.5%, Argentina - by 3%, Brazil - by 2% and Poland - by 1%.

Previously, news reported that the risk of a prolonged debt default in the US could cause the country's GDP to decrease by 6.1% and cause the loss of 8.3 million jobs.

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