Finance1 min read

How deep is Pakistan's debt dependence on China? The numbers tell the story

By · Via Times of India · Published by Everything Blog

In short

A World Bank report indicates that Pakistan’s foreign obligations almost doubled from $68.67 billion in 2015, heavily driven by public and publicly guaranteed commitments. While multilateral lenders collectively account for the largest share of public debt at $56.83 billion, China remains the single largest creditor country. Private borrowing has imposed an additional burden due to steep 8.6% interest rates over short three-year maturities. To ease near-term strain, China agreed to extend maturities on $2 billion in loans alongside emergency disbursements from the International Monetary Fund.

Key points

  • Bilateral exposure is heavily concentrated in Beijing, which provided maturity extensions…: Bilateral exposure is heavily concentrated in Beijing, which provided maturity extensions on $2 billion to offer repayment relief.
  • The broader regional debt-to-gross national income ratio climbed to 29.4%, representing t…: The broader regional debt-to-gross national income ratio climbed to 29.4%, representing the sharpest regional increase in the world.
  • Financial support from the International Monetary Fund contributed $2.3 billion in disbur…: Financial support from the International Monetary Fund contributed $2.3 billion in disbursements under specialized economic facility programs.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Pakistan’s external debt has nearly doubled over the past decade, climbing to $135.1 billion in 2025 from $68.67 billion in 2015, according to a World Bank report cited by Dawn.

The figures underline the Islamic country’s growing dependence on foreign borrowing to meet its financial needs.

The debt stock comprised $107.07 billion in public and publicly guaranteed loans, $17.58 billion in private non-guaranteed debt and $10.45 billion in short-term borrowing.

Of the public debt, multilateral institutions accounted for the largest share at $56.83 billion. Pakistan also owed $42.43 billion to bilateral lenders and $7.8 billion to private creditors.

China remained Pakistan’s biggest individual creditor, with outstanding loans of $22.4 billion. The World Bank was next with $19.2 billion, followed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), to which Pakistan owed $16.83 billion.

The report also highlighted the difference in borrowing costs. Loans from official creditors had an average maturity of 16 years, a four-year grace period and an interest rate of 3.6%. Private credit, in contrast, came at a much steeper average interest rate of 8.6%, with a repayment period of…

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