Egypt’s external debt rose to $163.7bn in September 2025, an increase of $2.5bn, or 1.5%, compared with June 2025, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).

The increase was mainly driven by fresh loan disbursements and exchange-rate movements, although valuation effects reduced the debt stock by approximately $48m.

Long-term debt remains dominant

By original maturity, long-term external debt continued to account for the largest share of Egypt’s obligations, reaching $128.9bn in September 2025, while short-term debt stood at $34.8bn.

Measured by residual maturity, short-term debt totalled approximately $59.4bn during the same period.

Long-term external debt declined by around $1.4bn compared with June 2025. Debt owed to multilateral institutions fell by $0.9bn to $43.9bn.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s outstanding stock of international bonds, notes, and sukuk held by non-residents reached $28.4bn, down by $0.3bn from June. The portfolio included approximately $20.1bn in US dollar-denominated Eurobonds, €3.5bn-equivalent in euro-denominated Eurobonds, $2.4bn in US dollar sukuk, $911.8m in Samurai bonds denominated in Japanese yen, $676m in green bonds, $491.5m-equivalent in Panda bonds denominated in Chinese yuan, and $345.5m in sovereign notes.

Rescheduled bilateral debt declined by $149.5m to $307m, while non-guaranteed private sector debt fell by $113.2m to $2.3bn, including $100m in green bonds and $499m in sustainability bonds.

Buyers’ and suppliers’ credit eased by $53.1m to approximately $19.2bn.

Long-term deposits held by Arab countries at the CBE remained unchanged at $9.3bn, including $5.3bn from Saudi Arabia and $4bn from Kuwait.

Repurchase agreements (repo) stood at approximately $6.7bn, while other bilateral debt rose by $128.6m to $18.8bn.

Short-term external debt increased by $3.9bn to $34.8bn in September 2025, with Arab countries’ deposits at the CBE accounting for around 31.9% of the total, equivalent to $11.1bn.

US dollar remains Egypt’s main borrowing currency

The US dollar continued to dominate Egypt’s external debt composition, accounting for $112.9bn, or 68.9% of total debt, in September 2025.

The euro ranked second at $20.1bn, while other major currencies totalled $30.7bn. These included Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) at $14bn, the Chinese yuan at $5.9bn, and both the Kuwaiti dinar and Japanese yen at $3.7bn each, alongside $3.4bn in other currencies.

IMF remains largest multilateral creditor

Debt owed to multilateral institutions totalled $46.6bn in September 2025. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) alone accounted for 28.6% of these loans, equivalent to $13.3bn.

This included $5.3bn under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF), $3.9bn linked to Egypt’s SDR allocation, $3.3bn under the new EFF arrangement, and $0.8bn under the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).

Other major multilateral creditors included the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) with $12.4bn, the European Investment Bank (EIB) with $3.6bn, the African Development Bank (AfDB) with $2.5bn, and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) with $2.2bn.

Debt owed to Arab countries amounted to $40.3bn, led by Saudi Arabia with $15.4bn, followed by the UAE with $12bn and Kuwait with $6.3bn.

Meanwhile, Egypt owed $19.1bn to six Paris Club members, including the United States ($5.4bn), Russia ($5.3bn), Japan ($2.8bn), France ($2.6bn), Germany ($2bn), and the United Kingdom ($1bn). Debt owed to China stood at $9.7bn.

Government debt declines while banks’ debt rises

By debtor sector, external debt owed by “other sectors” increased by $2.4bn to $22.1bn, representing 13.5% of total external debt, largely reflecting higher short-term trade credits.

Banks’ external debt rose by $1.3bn to $23.5bn, accounting for 14.4% of total debt, driven by increased short-term borrowing.

The Central Bank’s external debt edged down by $40.3m to $37.3bn, representing 22.7% of the total.

Government external debt declined by $1.2bn to $80.8bn, equivalent to 49.4% of total external debt.

Debt servicing pressures ease

External debt service payments declined by $1.5bn year-on-year to $6.4bn during July-September 2025/26.

The decrease reflected a $1.2bn reduction in principal repayments to $4.3bn, alongside a $0.3bn decline in interest payments to $2.1bn.

Debt indicators improve despite rise in short-term obligations

The ratio of external debt to GDP improved to 42.4% in September 2025, compared with 44.2% in June 2025.

Short-term external debt by original maturity rose to 21.2% of total external debt, up from 19.2% in June, reflecting the faster pace of growth in short-term liabilities relative to overall debt.

Its ratio to net international reserves increased to 70.2%, from 63.5%, indicating mounting pressure from near-term obligations despite the improvement in reserve levels.

Short-term debt measured by residual maturity climbed to 36.3% of total external debt, compared with 33.8% previously, while its ratio to reserves rose to 119.9% from 112%.

Meanwhile, external debt relative to exports of goods and services declined to 217.5%, from 223%, suggesting a gradual improvement in Egypt’s foreign-currency earning capacity relative to debt obligations.

The annual debt-service ratio fell to 49.4% in September 2025, compared with 53.6% in June, while the debt-service-to-current-receipts ratio declined to 31.7% from 34.5%, reflecting easing repayment burdens.

Reserves continue to strengthen

Net international reserves (NIR) increased by $0.8bn during July–September 2025/26, compared with a $0.4bn rise during the corresponding period a year earlier, reaching $49.5bn by the end of September 2025.

The reserves level covered 5.8 months of merchandise imports.

The increase was driven by a $2.3bn rise in gold holdings, despite a $1.5bn decline in foreign currency holdings.

According to the CBE, NIR climbed further to $52.6bn in January 2026, covering 6.1 months of merchandise imports.

Banks’ foreign assets improve

Banks’ net foreign assets increased by $4.9bn during July–September 2025/26, compared with a decline of $2.9bn in the same period a year earlier.

Foreign currency deposits at banks rose by 2.1% to $63.6bn in September 2025, while local currency deposits increased by 6.5%.

As a result, foreign currency deposits accounted for 25% of total deposits.

The improvement in banks’ foreign asset position reflects stronger foreign currency liquidity conditions within the banking sector, supported by higher inflows and improved balance-sheet positions.

Net external liabilities widen

Egypt’s net international investment position (IIP) recorded net external liabilities of $298.8bn in September 2025, compared with $293.6bn in June.

Claims on non-residents increased by $6.4bn, or 6.4%, to $106.5bn. This was mainly driven by a $4.3bn increase in other investments to $44.8bn, representing 42.1% of total external assets.

Portfolio investment abroad rose by $1.3bn, or 45.3%, to $4.1bn, representing 3.8% of total assets.

Reserve assets also increased by $0.6bn, or 1.3%, to $47bn, maintaining the largest share of total assets at 44.2%.

Similarly, direct investment abroad rose by $176.6m, or 1.7%, to $10.6bn, accounting for 9.9% of total assets.

On the liabilities side, obligations to non-residents increased by $11.7bn, or 3%, to $405.3bn.

The increase was primarily driven by a $6.5bn rise in portfolio investment in Egypt to $56.8bn, representing 14% of total liabilities.

Other investments expanded by $2.8bn, or 2.1%, to $134.7bn, accounting for 33.2% of liabilities.

Foreign direct investment in Egypt also rose by $2.4bn, or 1.1%, to $213.8bn, representing 52.8% of total liabilities.

Despite the increase in net external liabilities, Egypt’s negative net IIP-to-GDP ratio improved to 77.5% in September 2025, from 80.5% in June, reflecting stronger asset growth relative to GDP.

At the same time, the liabilities-to-GDP ratio declined to 105.1% from 107.9%, while the assets-to-GDP ratio increased to 27.6% from 27.4%.

The assets-to-liabilities ratio also improved to 26.3% in September 2025, compared with 25.4% three months earlier.

 

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