ArmInfo. By January 31, 2026, the Armenian government's debt had increased by $212 million compared to the end of December 2025, rising from $13.897 billion (381.4 per dollar) to $14.109 billion (at 378.6 per dollar). In dram equivalent, the debt had increased from 5 trillion 300 billion drams to 5 trillion 342 billion drams.
It is important to note that at the end of 2025, the RA Ministry of Finance once again revised the definition of "public debt," excluding the Central Bank's external debt and state guarantees, while including community debt.
What happened to the "public debt" and the Central Bank's debt?
Recall, prior to the amendments, Armenia's public debt consisted of the government's debt obligations, which arise from budget deficits and the need to raise additional funds to cover them, as well as the Central Bank's debt. Government debt was further categorized into external and internal debt, including loans issued under the government's guarantee, which were reflected in the Central Bank's external debt column). After the revision, a new concept was introduced: "public sector debt," which encompasses the total debt of public sector organizations, both financial and non-financial, the top of the pyramid in terms of volume is "public sector debt," followed by public debt which includes only the government's debt (Central Government debt) and communities' debt (Municipal debt), excluding the Central Bank's debt (which is part of the Public Sector Debt) and guarantees. Meanwhile, by the end of 2025, the national debt (according to the previously existing terminology) was $14 billion 531 million. In dram equivalent, the national debt increased from 5 trillion 092.7 billion to 5 trillion 541.7 million drams over the past year. As of December 2017, Armenia's total public debt amounted to $6.774 billion, which increased to $6.867 billion by the formation of Nikol Pashinyan's government at the end of April 2018. Thus, throughout the 28-year history (since Armenia gained independence), the Republic of Armenia has attracted loans totaling 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 new rules
According to the Ministry of Finance of the Republic, Armenia's external debt ( debt obligations to international organizations and foreign countries, funds received from the issuance of Eurobonds) increased from $6 billion 539.3 million to $6 billion 741.1 million in dollar terms, and in dram terms - from 2 trillion. AMD 493.8 billion to AMD 2.552.4 trillion. The government debt in dollars increased from $6.600.7 mill ion in December to $6.616.6 million in January. In national currency it went up from AMD 2.782.7 billion to AMD 2.837.1 trillion. Domestic government debt decreased from 52.9% at the end of 2025 to 52.2% as of January 31. Meanwhile, the AMD debt as a share of the Cabinet's share increased from 52.5% in 2025 to 53.1% in January of this year. 86.2% of government debt is borrowed at a fixed interest rate (86.1% in 2025 and 84.4% by the end of 2024). Meanwhile, the Central Bank's debt, which is already listed on a separate page, decreased from $490.7 million to $490.4 million.
One good turn deserves another
In January 2026, the budget deficit was financed through net borrowings of 66.1 billion drams (with an annual budget of 649.7 billion drams, 639.4 billion drams for 2025, and 399.9 billion drams for all of 2024). Of this amount, 59.4 billion drams were raised from domestic sources (net proceeds from the placement of government treasury bonds), and 6.6 billion drams from external sources, with an annual budget of 315 billion drams and 334.7 billion drams, respectively. Additionally, 8.4 billion drams were allocated for servicing the government debt (interest payments), with a planned 410.7 billion drams for all of 2026 (360.8 billion drams for 2025 and 313.6 billion drams in 2024).
"Our duties are the rights of others 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 36.3% of the government's external loans. The second largest creditor is the Asian Development Bank (22.7%), followed by the EFSD (8.7%), the European Investment Bank (3.2%), and the International Monetary Fund (1%). External loans from the EU accounted for 1.7% of the 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 major creditor countries, Russia leads with 2.3% (6.2% in of 2023, 5.3% in 2024, and 2.5% in 2025), Germany with 4.6%, Japan with 2.5%, France with 11.1%, China with 0.3%, and the United States with just 0.2% of the government's external debt.
Financial authorities' forecasts
According to the "State Budget of the Republic of Armenia for 2026," by the end of this year, the government debt will amount to $15.152.8 billion (6 trillion 310.3 billion in drams), or 52.9% of GDP. Repayment and servicing of the government's debt will require 1.05 trillion drams (including 420 billion drams for interest payments alone).
