Finance Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane says Zambia’s total public sector debt stood at 28.9 billion US dollars at the end of December 2025, reflecting marginal increases in both domestic and external obligations
Delivering a Ministerial Statement to Parliament of Zambia on Thursday, Dr. Musokotwane says the debt stock comprises 16.1 billion US dollars in central government external debt, 1.4 billion US dollars in government-guaranteed external debt, and 253.7 billion kwacha in domestic debt.
He has explained that domestic debt contracted through government securities rose slightly by 0.4 percent, from 252.8 billion kwacha in September 2025 to 253.7 billion kwacha by year-end.
The increase was aligned with programmed financing needs under the 2025 Annual Borrowing Plan.
On the external front, government debt increased by 0.7 percent from 16.04 billion US dollars in September to 16.1 billion US dollars in December 2025, largely driven by disbursements from multilateral partners.
Meanwhile, the Minister has reported improvements in Zambia’s external sector.
He says the current account deficit narrowed sharply to 25.1 million US dollars by end-September 2025 from 541.6 million US dollars in June, supported by a stronger goods balance that rose to 600 million US dollars, boosted by copper and non-traditional exports.
Gross foreign reserves also strengthened to 5.5 billion US dollars at the end of December, up from 5.2 billion US dollars in September — equivalent to 5.2 months of import cover.
Dr. Musokotwane has attributed the increase to disbursements under the IMF programme, project inflows, statutory reserve deposits, purchases by Bank of Zambia, and interest earnings.
By Rachel Mumba
© Diamond TV Zambia. Republishing full content without permission is prohibited.
