ArmInfo. By December 31, 2025, Armenia's public debt had increased by approximately $1.7 billion, or 13.1%, to $14.531 billion compared to the end of December 2024. At the end of December 2017, Armenia's total public debt was $6.774 billion, and by the time Nikol Pashinyan's government was formed, at the end of April 2018, this figure was at $6.867 billion.
Thus, over the 28-year history (since Armenia's independence), the Republic of Armenia has borrowed approximately $6.8 billion, and from 2018 to the end of 2025, the authorities 'managed' to increase the public debt by approximately $7.757 billion.
According to the republic's Ministry of Finance, the public debt in dram equivalent has increased over the past year from 5 trillion 092.7 billion to 5 trillion 541.7 million drams. Specifically, government debt by the end of December 2025 in US dollar terms increased by $1.7 billion - from $12 billion 338.2 billion by the end of 2024 (396.56 drams per dollar) to $14 billion 040.7 million (381.36 drams per dollar), and in dram terms - from 4 trillion 892.8 billion drams to 5 trillion. 354.5 billion.
External debt (Armenia's debt obligations to international organizations and foreign countries, funds received from the issuance of Eurobonds) increased in dollar terms from $5 billion 590.1 million to $6 billion 545.9 million, and in dram terms from 2 trillion 359.6 billion drams to 2 trillion 496.4 billion drams.
As a reminder, on March 5, 2025, Armenia placed Eurobonds on the international capital market in the amount of $750 million, with a yield of 7.1% and a maturity of 10 years (settlement date: March 12, 2025). The coupon yield on the new Eurobonds was 6.75%.
The Eurobonds were listed on the London Stock Exchange and are rated BB- (stable) by S&P / BB- (stable) by Fitch / Ba3 (stable) by Moody's. It was noted that net proceeds from the Eurobond issue would be used to finance the state budget deficit (609 billion drams - ed.).
Domestic debt increased over the year in both dollar terms - from $6 billion 388.1 million to $7 billion 494.7 million - and in national currency terms: from 2 trillion 533.3 billion drams to 2 trillion 858.2 billion drams. At the same time, the Central Bank's debt in drams decreased from 199.9 billion drams at the end of 2024 to 187.7 billion drams by the end of December 2025, and in dollar terms from $504 million to $490.7 million. Loans issued under state guarantees decreased from 25.9 billion drams to 24.6 billion drams, and in dollar terms from $65.2 million to $64.4 million.
By the end of December 2025, the share of domestic debt in the government's debt structure increased from 51.8% (at the end of 2024) to 53.4%, while dram-denominated debt increased from 50.8% at the end of last year to 52.9%.
86.2% of government debt is borrowed at a fixed interest rate (84.4% at the end of 2024).
A debt must be repaid. From January to December 2025, the budget deficit was financed through net borrowings at 438.7 billion drams (399.9 billion drams for all of 2024, while the annual program for 2025 is 639.4 billion drams). 297 billion drams were raised from domestic sources (net proceeds from the placement of government treasury bonds), and 141.7 billion drams from external sources, with the annual program of 291.4 billion drams and 348 billion drams, respectively. 394.1 billion drams were allocated for servicing the government debt (interest payments), while the planned amount for all of 2025 was 360.8 billion drams (313.6 billion in 2024). "Our debt is a right that others have over us": Friedrich Nietzsche
The World Bank remains the largest creditor to the Armenian government, with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association accounting for 36.4% of Armenia's external loans. The second largest creditor is the Asian Development Bank (22.7%), followed by the EFSD (8.8%), the European Investment Bank (3.2%), and the International Monetary Fund (1%). External loans from the EU accounted for 1.7% of Armenia's external debt, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) accounted for 1%, the OPEC Fund for International Development (3.1%), and the EBRD (0.9%). Among the major creditor countries, Russia ranks first with 2.5% (6.2% by the end of 2023 and 5.3% in 2024), Germany with 4.6%, Japan with 2.57%, France with 11%, China with 0.3%, and the United States with only 0.2% of the government's external debt.
Financial authorities' forecasts According to the Law on the 2025 State Budget of the Republic of Armenia, public debt was projected to reach 6 trillion 159 billion drams by the end of the year, or 56.5% of GDP. Government debt was projected at 5 trillion 910.4 billion drams ($13 billion 963.1 million), or 54.3% of GDP. In 2025, 1 trillion 117.1 billion drams were allocated for government debt repayment and servicing alone, of which 723 billion drams were for repayment and 394.1 billion drams for interest payments.
According to the 2026 state budget, government debt by the end of this year will amount to $15.152.8 billion (6 trillion 310.3 billion drams), or 52.9% of GDP. The government will need 1.05 trillion drams to repay and service the debt (420 billion drams alone will be required to pay interest on the debt).
