Baghdad – INA
The Iraqi News Agency (INA) obtained recent official data from the Ministry of Finance detailing the financial status of Iraq's domestic and external debts up to the end of April 2026. The figures revealed a disparity between the volume of borrowing and the ability to repay, between inherited obligations and those incurred during the current government's term.
Details of Domestic Debt
These figures were included in a report by the Public Debt Department of the Ministry of Finance, which indicated that total domestic borrowing between 2023 and April 30, 2026, reached 46.035 trillion dinars. These loans were distributed as follows: 7.590 trillion dinars in 2023, peaking at 17.105 trillion dinars in 2024, then stabilizing at 10.840 trillion dinars in 2025 and 10.5 trillion dinars in the first months of 2026.
Despite the size of the new borrowing, the Ministry of Finance, according to data obtained by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), successfully repaid 19.910 trillion dinars, bringing the total domestic debt balance to 96.629 trillion dinars. The domestic debt balance, resulting from accumulated borrowing by previous governments (2004-2022), had previously been recorded at a higher level. 70.505 trillion dinars.
External Debt
Regarding the external debt file, data obtained by the Iraqi News Agency (INA) shows tangible progress in reducing the financial burden. The current external debt balance stands at $10.076 billion, and the Ministry of Finance managed to repay $2.166 billion of loans inherited from previous governments between 2023 and April 2026.
As for the "old debt" from before 2003 (Paris Club countries and others), the Ministry of Finance report revealed that the remaining balance as of the end of April 2026 decreased to only $2.963 billion. In comparison, the outstanding balance of external project debt for the period 2016-2022 previously reached $12.926 billion.
