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External debt climbs to new record high
Manila Bulletin
|December 6, 2025
The country’s total external debt climbed to $137.018 billion (around P8.049 trillion) in 2024, up from $124.472 billion (around P7.312 trillion) in 2023, the World Bank Group (WBG) reported.
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According to the WBG's International Debt Report (IDR) 2025 published on Wednesday, Dec. 3, the Philippines' total external debt last year hit a record high—topping the WBG's records from 2010 to 2024.
The WBG report highlighted the Philippines among the domestic markets in lowand middle-income countries (LMICs) that have not only attracted local investors but have also become “attractive to international investors.”
“Their development has led to nonresidents borrowing in domestic currency in countries with well-established access to capital markets, such as in Argentina, Indonesia, Mauritius, Mexico, and South Africa, as well as newer issuances in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, the Philippines, and Türkiye,” the report added.
This story is from the December 6, 2025 edition of Manila Bulletin.
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