To date, the country’s external debt has fallen to the lowest levels in the last 15 years.
Photo: Vladimir VELENGURIN
According to the World Bank, in 2021 Russia only had three creditor states left: India (debt: $610 million), France ($316 million) and South Korea ($280 million). However, in 2021, we took a loan only from India – Russia’s debt to this country increased 3.2 times during the year.
However, the indebtedness of other states is only a small percentage of the country’s foreign debt. Its main part, up to 75%, are debts with creditors not related to government agencies of other countries. These are usually private companies and financial institutions. And about a fifth of it belongs to Russian bondholders.
To date, the country’s external debt has fallen to the lowest levels in the last 15 years. As of October 1, 2022, its value is US$436.8 billion. Since the beginning of 2022, it has decreased by $45.4 billion, that is, by 9.4%. These are the data of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
At the same time, Russia remains one of the third world countries’ biggest creditors, second only to China, Japan, Germany and France. According to the World Bank, the total debt of other states with our country is $26.540 million. And in two years this amount has grown by 16%. In 2021, 38 countries were still in debt to Russia.
Belarus is the one that owes us the most: 8.4 billion dollars. And the total debt of the countries of Asia and Africa is 13.4 billion. According to experts, Russia will never repay most of these debts, but instead considers these loans as an investment in its security (especially in the case of Belarus) and as an income. ticket to work in promising markets in Asia and Africa. (See “Billions of dollars for Belarus, India and Bangladesh: why Russia is investing so much in other countries and whether they will pay this money back”).
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