Nepal’s public debt has reached Rs 2.384 trillion, with an additional burden of Rs 162.58 billion in the first half of the current fiscal year, according to the Public Debt Management Office (PDMO).

The data reveals that the public debt now constitutes 44.3 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with per capita debt surpassing Rs 90,000.

Internal borrowings have outpaced external ones, with the domestic borrowing standing at Rs 1.198 trillion compared to Rs 1.186 trillion owed to the foreign sector.

From 30.26 percent of Nepal’s GDP in the fiscal year 2018/19, the public debt has grown to 42.73 percent in 2022/23, with a 1.57 percentage increase in the last six months alone.

The primary driver behind this appears to be the government’s heightened recurrent expenditure, coupled with sluggish revenue collection.

During the first half of the current fiscal year, the government collected Rs 518 billion in revenue, falling short of the target by 23 percent.

Concurrently, expenditures reached Rs 566 billion, resulting in a negative balance of Rs 48 billion in the state treasury.