Government debt declines as percentage of GDP in March 2024
The government’s debt stock and loan guarantees as a percentage of GDP showed a decline at the end of March 2024 compared to the same period a year ago, according to the latest Quarterly Bulletin issued by the Bank of Namibia (BoN) released on Friday.
The Government debt stock decreased to 66% of GDP by March 2024, down from 67.2% recorded during the corresponding period in the previous year, BoN Directorate of Strategic Communication and International Relations, Kazembire Zemburuka said.
This reduction was attributed to faster growth in nominal GDP relative to the increase in debt over the review period, he added.
According to a statement from the central bank, in nominal terms, central government debt increased by 8% to N$153.8 billion as of March 2024.
This rise was driven by increased issuance of Treasury Bills (TBs) and Internal Registered Stock (IRS), alongside an uptick in external debt. The increase in external debt was influenced by exchange rate depreciation, disbursement of funding from KFW Development Bank, and a loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Meanwhile, the government’s total loan guarantees as a percentage of GDP also decreased annually by 0.8 percentage points to 3.6%.
This decline was primarily due to government repayments of domestic loans associated with institutions in the agricultural sector that defaulted on their loans, as well as repayments of loans guaranteed in the tourism and transport sectors, the central bank concluded.
