Azerbaijan aims to keep public debt-to-GDP ratio stable over next four years

The Azerbaijani government aims to keep the ratio of public debt to gross domestic product (GDP) stable over the next four years. According to Report.az, Finance Minister Sahil Babayev said this at a meeting of the Milli Majlis Committee on Economic Policy, Industry and Entrepreneurship, where the 2027 budget envelope was being discussed.

Babayev said the ratio is expected to be 20% by the end of 2026 and 20.3% by the end of 2030. He said Azerbaijan is among the countries with the best public debt-to-GDP indicators in the world. Of the 23.9 billion manat debt portfolio, 16.2 billion manat is domestic public debt and 7.7 billion manat is external public debt.

Babayev said the average maturity of bonds has reached 3.6 years, and 7- and 10-year bonds account for 44% of the portfolio. He said the government's next priority is to increase the average maturity of debt and replace short-term borrowing with medium- and long-term borrowing.