Pakistan’s domestic and external debt are two components of its public-debt stock, distinguished by the market and financing sources involved—not by whether borrowing is automatically safe or affordable. At end-June 2025, the Ministry of Finance reported total public debt of PKR 80,518 billion: PKR 54,472 billion domestic and PKR 26,047 billion external. Those figures describe a dated stock in rupees, not all of Pakistan’s external liabilities.
What counts as Pakistan’s public debt?
The Ministry of Finance’s January 2026 Debt Policy Statement quotes the Fiscal Responsibility and Debt Limitation Act definition of “Total Public Debt”: debt owed by the federal and provincial governments and serviced from the consolidated fund, plus debts owed to the International Monetary Fund. Within that public-debt total, domestic and external identify different components of government borrowing.
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The ministry also reports a different measure, “Total Debt of the Government,” which subtracts federal and provincial government deposits with the banking system from statutory total public debt. At end-June 2025, that net-of-deposits figure was PKR 73,267 billion. The Ministry of Finance reported the total-public-debt-to-GDP ratio as 70.7% and the net-of-deposits government-debt ratio as 64.3% for the same date. These ratios use different measures and should not be compared as if they describe the same debt total.
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The Ministry of Finance’s January 2026 Debt Policy Statement gives two dated snapshots. The figures below are in PKR billions; they are rupee-denominated public-debt stocks, not dollar totals for all external liabilities.
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| Reference date | Total public debt | Domestic debt | External debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| End-June 2025 | 80,518 | 54,472 | 26,047 |
| End-September 2025 | 79,147 | 53,424 | 25,723 |
Each row is a stock at its stated reference date. The September figures are not a replacement definition of debt, and a change between snapshots does not by itself explain the causes of the movement.
What makes up domestic debt?
The Ministry of Finance classifies domestic debt in three categories. Its end-June 2025 figures add up to the reported domestic-debt total of PKR 54,472 billion.
| Category | What it includes | End-June 2025 stock |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent debt | Longer than one year; examples include Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) and Government Ijarah Sukuks (GIS). | PKR 41,777 billion |
| Floating debt | Shorter-term borrowing, including Market Treasury Bills with 3-, 6- and 12-month tenors. | PKR 8,756 billion |
| Unfunded debt | Borrowing from non-banking sources, primarily National Savings Schemes administered by the Central Directorate of National Savings. | PKR 3,939 billion |
These are composition figures for one reporting date, not fixed shares that should be assumed to apply to later years.
Why external public debt is not the same as all external liabilities
External public debt is the external component of the public-debt stock. It is narrower than “external debt and liabilities,” a broader aggregate that the Ministry of Finance says includes public and publicly guaranteed debt, public-enterprise debt, private-sector external debt, bank borrowing and intercompany liabilities.
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The Ministry of Finance’s January 2026 statement reports external debt of USD 91.8 billion at end-June 2025 and USD 91.4 billion at end-September 2025. These dollar figures have a different stated scope and unit from the PKR external public-debt rows in the table above; do not treat them as interchangeable unless the measures are confirmed to match. In a clarification about the broader aggregate, the ministry stated total external debt and liabilities of USD 138 billion and external public debt of approximately USD 92 billion. That broader figure should not be substituted for the dated public-debt stock series.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How domestic and external borrowing create different risks
Neither label alone tells you whether debt is affordable, cheap or prudent. The instrument, currency, interest terms, repayment schedule and the government’s capacity to meet obligations all matter. The Ministry of Finance tracks currency risk, interest-rate risk and maturity separately in its debt-management indicators.
Currency risk
Foreign-currency debt can become more expensive in rupee terms if the rupee depreciates, even if the amount owed in foreign currency has not changed. The ministry identifies the external share of total public debt as a currency-risk indicator; it reported that share at 32.2% by March 2025. That is a dated indicator, not a current share for every subsequent reporting date.
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Debt labels do not reveal whether a particular borrowing carries a fixed or floating rate, nor do they provide a comparable borrowing rate. The ministry tracks the fixed-rate share as an interest-rate-risk indicator. To assess exposure, examine the terms of the instruments and when their rates can reset rather than assuming all domestic or all external debt has the same cost.
Refinancing and maturity risk
Debt that must be repaid or refinanced sooner can create pressure even when the headline stock is unchanged. The relevant comparison is the maturity profile and repayment schedule, not simply the domestic-versus-external total. The ministry reports average time to maturity separately for domestic and external debt.
Interest expense is not an interest-rate comparison
Pakistan’s Economic Survey 2024–25 reported public-debt interest expense of PKR 6,439 billion during July–March FY2025: PKR 5,783 billion domestic and PKR 656 billion external. This is nominal interest expense for that period, not an apples-to-apples comparison of domestic and external borrowing rates; the totals alone do not establish which category is cheaper.
The Ministry of Finance’s January 2026 Debt Policy Statement says “it is important to have an effective debt management strategy to minimize the costs of meeting the government’s borrowing needs, while taking into account the associated risks by ensuring an optimum combination of debt composition.” That framing captures why composition and risk management matter alongside the size of the debt stock.
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How to read a Pakistan debt figure
- Identify the measure: Is it statutory total public debt, government debt net of deposits, external public debt, or total external debt and liabilities?
- Check the reference date: A stock figure applies to a specific date, such as end-June or end-September 2025.
- Check the unit: PKR and USD totals are not directly interchangeable; confirm both the currency and the scope before comparing them.
- Separate stock from cost: A debt balance, an interest-expense total and a borrowing rate answer different questions.
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