According to data released by the Central Bank of Iraq, the country's domestic debt reached 95.68 trillion Iraqi dinars (approximately $73 billion) by the end of April 2026. Domestic debt, which stood at 90.52 trillion dinars (approximately $69 billion) at the end of 2025, increased by 5.16 trillion dinars (approximately $3.94 billion) in the first four months of the year, recording a 5.7% rise.
Largest component is Ministry of Finance debt
Central Bank tables revealed that the main source of the increase in domestic debt was the Ministry of Finance's liabilities to the bank. The ministry's debt rose to 55.67 trillion dinars (approximately $42.52 billion) by the end of April 2026. This figure marks an increase of 10 trillion dinars (approximately $7.63 billion) compared to the level of 45.67 trillion dinars (approximately $34.89 billion) at the end of 2025, constituting the largest component of domestic debt.
Decline in loans and bonds
A notable decline was observed in other components of domestic debt. During the same period, loans fell from 22.9 trillion dinars to 20.27 trillion dinars (approximately $15.47 billion), while government bonds dropped from 13.1 trillion dinars to 10.87 trillion dinars (approximately $8.30 billion). Treasury bills remained stable at 8.84 trillion dinars (approximately $6.75 billion).
'Safe and reasonable level'
Despite the rise in domestic debt, the Central Bank of Iraq announced that the public debt-to-GDP ratio does not exceed 43%. The bank emphasized that this ratio is classified internationally as safe and reasonable and does not pose a direct burden on the country's economic or financial stability.
External debt decreased by $2.1 billion in two years
While domestic debt increased, Iraq's external debt stock experienced a steady decline. Previously released Central Bank data showed that external debt stood at $56.2 billion in 2023, $54.6 billion in 2024, and $54.1 billion in 2025. Thus, total external debt decreased by $2.1 billion over the two-year period.
The bank also noted that the actual deficit in the budgets for 2023, 2024, and 2025 was limited to approximately 35 trillion dinars (approximately $26.72 billion), and this deficit was financed through domestic bond and bill issuances. It was recorded that actual borrowing reached only 18.2% of the deficit projected in the budgets.
