External debt up $ 100 m QoQ to $ 37.2 b by end Sept.

THE external debt stock reached $ 37,238 million at end-September 2025, rising $ 100 million from the previous quarter, according to the Public Debt Management Office’s latest Quarterly Debt Bulletin.

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Although Sri Lanka remains locked out of international capital markets it continues to access and service loans from multilateral agencies such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

Sri Lanka settled $ 1.36 billion in external debt servicing in the first half of 2025, covering 55% of the $ 2.45 billion due for the full year, according to data from the Public Debt Management Office and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL). This leaves $ 1.09 billion to be met in the second half of the year.

CBSL Governor Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe recently said that annual external debt servicing will average around $ 2.75 billion till 2027 under current commitments. From 2028 onwards, it is projected to rise, reaching between $3.2 billion and $3.5 billion, and peaking at close to $ 4 billion in certain years within the next decade, he said.