Bulgaria's gross external debt rose to €68.798bn at the end of August 2026, up 25.3% in a year, preliminary figures from the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) show. The total covers money that the state, banks and companies owe abroad.
The debt equals 53.6% of forecast gross domestic product (GDP), the value of everything the country produces in a year. At the end of August 2025 the share was 47.1%, and debt was €54.914bn. The gap with the current figure is €13.884bn.
The central bank's liabilities grew by €8.506bn, from €1.939bn (1.7% of GDP) to €10.445bn (8.1% of GDP). The BNB says this is mainly because euro banknotes were distributed within the Eurosystem after Bulgaria joined the eurozone on 1 January 2026.
Short-term debt stands at €17.753bn, or 25.8% of gross debt and 13.8% of GDP. In August 2025 it was €9.238bn, or 16.8% of the debt and 7.9% of GDP. It rose by €8.515bn, or 92.2%, over the year.
Long-term debt is €51.044bn, or 74.2% of the total and 39.8% of GDP. A year earlier it was €45.675bn (83.2% of the debt and 39.2% of GDP), so it has grown by €5.369bn (11.8%). Of all the debt, €40.909bn (59.5%) must be repaid in more than a year.
About 72.3% of the foreign debt is in euros, down from 80% a year earlier.
General government has the biggest share, but it fell from 32.2% to 28%. The state owes €19.278bn (15% of GDP), up €1.617bn (9.2%) from €17.661bn (15.2% of GDP) in August 2025.
Other monetary and financial institutions owe €10.047bn (7.8% of GDP). That is €2.435bn (32%) more than the €7.612bn (6.5% of GDP) of a year ago.
In other sectors, debt is €14.859bn (11.6% of GDP), up €608.6m (4.3%) from €14.250bn (12.2% of GDP) in August 2025.
Loans between related companies stood at €14.167bn (11% of GDP) at the end of August 2026. A year earlier they were €13.450bn (11.5% of GDP), or €716.3m (5.3%) lower.