31.01.2022

As at end-December 2021, central government debt^[1] stands at BGN 32,510.7 million, which is a reduction by almost BGN 16.4 million as compared to end-November 2021. Domestic debt amounts to BGN 8,903.6 million and external debt – to BGN 23,607.1 million.

At the end of the reporting period the central government debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio^[2] is 24.9%, with the share of domestic debt being 6.8% and of external debt – 18.1% of GDP. In December 2021, domestic and external debt in the subsector's debt structure amount to 27.4% and 72.6%, respectively.

As of 31 December 2021, bonds issued on the international capital markets continue to be a major part of the debt structure by instruments with a share of 54.4%, followed by government securities issued on the domestic market with 26.2% and by government loans with 19.4%. The debt's interest rate structure is characterised by a continuing trend of prevailing debt with a fixed interest rate (97.8%), while the currency structure is characterised by a big relative share of EUR and BGN-denominated debt instruments (99.8%). Debt instruments with a maturity over 10 years form the biggest share in the maturity structure of debt by original maturity with 62.3%, followed by those with a maturity from 5 to 10 years (29.0%), with a maturity from 1 to 5 years (8,6%) and with a maturity up to 1 year with a minimum share of 0.04%. The forthcoming maturities are distributed in a balanced way in the structure by residual maturity: the payments up to 1 year account for 8.6%, those from 1 to 5 years account for 35.7%, those from 5 to 10 years account for 31.8% and those over 10 years account for 24.0%.

Central government guaranteed debt amounts to BGN 554.5 million as of 31 December 2021. Domestic guarantees amount to BGN 67.1 million and external guarantees – to BGN 487.4 million. The central government guaranteed debt/GDP ratio is 0.4%

According to the official register of government and government guaranteed debt kept by the Ministry of Finance on the grounds of Article 38(1) of the Government Debt Law, at end-December 2021 government debt reaches BGN 31,218.0 million, or 23.9 % of GDP. Domestic debt amounts to BGN 8,637.1 million and external debt – to BGN 22,580.9 million. 

Government guaranteed debt amounts to BGN 1,938.5 million in December 2021, domestic guarantees amount to BGN 67.1 million, with the government guaranteed debt-to-GDP ratio being 1.5%.

The Bulletin is published in the Statistics Category/Central Government Debt and Guarantees Monthly Bulletin.

Note: In accordance with Article 36(3) of the Public Finance Law/in force as from 01.01.2014,
prom. SG, issue No 15 of 15.02.2013, amended SG, No 95 of 8.12.2015, amended and supplemented, issue No SG, No 43 of 7.06.2016 and SG No 91 of 14.11.2017/, starting from June 2016, the Ministry of Finance publishes a Central Government Debt and Guarantees monthly bulletin. Information about the amount, structure and dynamics of government and government guaranteed debt/assumed under the procedure of the Government Debt Law/, as published in the Government Debt bulletin until May 2016, is included on page 11 of the new edition.

^[1] Central government debt is the debt of the central government pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2009 of 25.05.2009 on the application of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community. The list of the units included in the central government sub-sector in addition to government bodies and institutions as per the European System of National and Regional Accounts in the Community (ESA 2010) and the Eurostat Manual on Government Debt and Deficit (EC) can be found ^HERE.

^[2] Forecast data of  the Ministry of Finance.