Bulgaria's External Debt: 20.2% Year-on-Year Growth

Bulgaria's gross external debt, including both the public and private sectors, is experiencing significant growth, according to the latest information published by the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB). According to preliminary data, as of the end of August this year, the liabilities reached 53.605 billion euros, which represents an increase of 20.2% year-on-year.

Observing the trend in the long term, the dynamics of the debt are clearly visible. For comparison, at the end of August of the previous year, the gross external debt was significantly lower, amounting to 44.590 billion euros. This means that for the year the debt increased by an impressive 9.015 billion euros.

The current size of the gross external debt equals 47.7% of the projected gross domestic product (GDP) of the country. This figure highlights a significant increase compared to the reported 42.6% of GDP at the end of the same period of the previous year.

The analysis of the debt structure reveals interesting details. As of the end of August 2025, short-term liabilities amount to 8.700 billion euros. This represents 16.2% of the total gross debt and 7.7% of GDP. Compared to August 2024, when these liabilities were 8.197 billion euros, the increase is significant - 503.3 million euros, which represents a growth of 6.1%.

Long-term liabilities form the larger part of the external debt. As of the end of August 2025, they amount to 44.905 billion euros, which represents 83.8% of the gross debt and 40% of GDP. The increase in these long-term liabilities is impressive, reaching 8.512 billion euros, or 23.4% compared to the end of August 2024. Then they were in the amount of 36.393 billion euros.

Another important detail from the analysis is that as of the end of August 2025, 36.058 billion euros of the gross external liabilities, or 67.3%, have a remaining maturity of over one year.

An important aspect of this financial picture is the currency structure of the debt. 80% of the gross external liabilities are denominated in euros. A year earlier, this share was 79.5%.

Looking at the individual sectors, we can see how the debt is distributed. The gross external debt of the "Government" sector at the end of August 2025 is 17.686 billion euros, which represents 15.8% of GDP. The increase in this debt is significant compared to the end of August 2024, when it was 10.241 billion euros. The growth of 7.444 billion euros, or 72.7%, underlines the significance of the change. This sector has the largest share in the structure of external debt – 33% at the end of August 2025, compared to 23% a year earlier.

The external liabilities of the Central Bank are 1.939 billion euros, or 1.7% of GDP. They mark a minimal growth of 18 million euros, or 0.9%, compared to 1.921 billion euros a year earlier.

The external liabilities of the "Other monetary and financial institutions" sector (banks and money market funds) are 7.612 billion euros, or 6.8% of GDP. Compared to the previous year, the debt in this sector has increased by 1.132 billion euros, or 17.5%, from 6.480 billion euros.

The external liabilities of "Other sectors" amount to 13.595 billion euros, or 12.1% of GDP. Their growth is 849.1 million euros, or 6.7%, compared to 12.746 billion euros from the previous year.

Intra-company lending is in the amount of 12.772 billion euros, or 11.4% of GDP, as of the end of August 2025. It is 429.3 million euros, or 3.3% less than 13.201 billion euros from the end of August 2024.