Egypt’s external debt rose by 0.5% during the first quarter of 2026, reaching $164.776 billion, compared with $163.911 billion at the end of 2025, according to the Egyptian Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, based on data from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
The increase comes as Egypt continues to manage its external financial commitments, with the Central Bank reporting that the country paid $15.995 billion in external debt service costs during the first half of the 2025/26 fiscal year.
Debt servicing payments were divided between $9.553 billion during the second quarter and $6.442 billion during the first quarter of the fiscal year.
According to the Central Bank’s latest statistical bulletin, debt service payments included $2.078 billion in interest payments during the first quarter and around $1.675 billion during the second quarter. Principal repayments amounted to $4.363 billion in the first quarter and approximately $7.877 billion in the second quarter.
Egypt’s external debt stood at $163.9 billion at the end of 2025, compared with $161.230 billion at the end of June 2025.
Despite the rise in the debt balance, the external debt-to-GDP ratio improved, declining to approximately 40.6% at the end of December 2025, compared with 44.2% at the end of June 2025, reflecting growth in the country’s economic base and changes in debt sustainability indicators.
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