Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income): External debt stocks, long-term (DOD, current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)'s external debt stocks, long-term (DOD, current US$) fell 3.8% on 2023 (from US$415.85 billion to US$400.21 billion).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +4% and a typical year strayed about 7.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 41.6% in 1977 and the biggest yearly fall was 13.5% in 2005. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about US$16.27 billion a year. A straight line explains 78% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

What this measures

Long-term debt is debt that has an original or extended maturity of more than one year. It has three components: public, publicly guaranteed, and private nonguaranteed debt. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 55 values

External debt stocks, long-term (DOD, current US$) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — US$1.81 billion (2024)
• Algeria — US$1.13 billion (2024)
• Djibouti — US$2.84 billion (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — US$109.86 billion (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — US$1.05 billion (2024)
• Iraq — US$13.23 billion (2024)
• Jordan — US$26.42 billion (2024)
• Lebanon — US$47.3 billion (2024)
• Morocco — US$57.2 billion (2024)
• Pakistan

More economic policy & debt data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)

• General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$294.27 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$341.05 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 13.8% (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$1.46 trillion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 68.25% (2025)
• Final consumption expenditure (current US$)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)'s external debt stocks, long-term (DOD, current US$)?

US$400.21 billion in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 5,260% from US$7.47 billion in 1970 (7.65% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$415.85 billion in 2023 and the lowest US$7.47 billion in 1970.

Is the latest change in external debt stocks, long-term (DOD, current US$) unusual for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)?

In 2024, Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)'s external debt stocks, long-term (DOD, current US$) fell 3.8% on 2023 (from US$415.85 billion to US$400.21 billion). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +4% and a typical year strayed about 7.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator DT.DOD.DLXF.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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