Government Debt Increases Record Amount

The debt accumulated by the Government of Maldives has reached 86 billion Maldivian Rufiyaa.

According to the data published by the Ministry of Finance, the debt accumulated by the government until the end of December the previous year was 85,554 million (86 billion) Maldivian Rufiyaa. This is the highest amount of debt accumulated by the Government of the Maldives in history. A sum total of 44 billion Maldivian Ruffiya is external debt and 42.3 billion Maldivian Ruffiya is internal debt. Out of the total debt, 19.9 billion have been given sovereign guaranty by the Government of Maldives.

By the end of last year, Maldives' GDP debt ratio was at149 percent.

The debt of the Maldives has significantly risen after President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih took office. In 2018, the debt of the Maldives was at 60.2 billion Maldivian Rufiyaa. In 2019, it increased to 67 billion Maldivian Rufiyaa and by the end of 2020, the amount rose to 86 billion Maldivian Rufiyaa. In the first two years of President Solih's administration 25.8 billion Maldivian Rufiyaa increased in debt.

Despite the GDP debt ratio being at 149 percent, the government still has plans to take more loans.