Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income): External debt stocks (% of GNI)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)'s external debt stocks (% of GNI) fell 2.46 percentage points on 2023 (from 29.74% to 27.28%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.89 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.27 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 18.03 percentage points in 1991 and the biggest yearly fall was 11.48 percentage points in 1990. 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 1.01 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 52% 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

Total external debt stocks to gross national income. Total external debt is debt owed to nonresidents repayable in currency, goods, or services. Total external debt is the sum of public, publicly guaranteed, and private nonguaranteed long-term debt, use of IMF credit, and short-term debt. Short-term debt includes all debt having an original maturity of one year or less and interest in arrears on long-term debt. GNI (formerly GNP) is the sum of value added by all resident producers plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not included in the valuation of output plus net receipts of primary income (compensation of employees and property income) from abroad.

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

All 55 values

External debt stocks (% of GNI) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 19.89% (2023)
• Algeria — 2.67% (2024)
• Djibouti — 83.83% (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 41.98% (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 2.21% (2024)
• Iraq — 6.23% (2024)
• Jordan — 90.14% (2024)
• Lebanon — 331.65% (2023)
• Morocco — 44.72% (2024)
• Pakistan — 35.63% (2024)
• Syrian Arab Republic — 25.33% (2023)

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$1.46 trillion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 68.25% (2025)
• Final consumption expenditure (current US$)

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Questions people ask

What is Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)'s external debt stocks (% of GNI)?

27.28% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 10.24 percentage points from 17.04% in 1970. The highest value was 56.32% in 1993 and the lowest 12.71% in 1974.

Is the latest change in external debt stocks (% of GNI) 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 (% of GNI) fell 2.46 percentage points on 2023 (from 29.74% to 27.28%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.89 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.27 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator DT.DOD.DECT.GN.ZS, 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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