By Lacity
As of December 31, 2023, public and publicly guaranteed debt amounted to ₴5.519 trillion, or $145.32 billion, according to the Ministry of Finance. The ratio of public debt to GDP was 85%. Public and publicly guaranteed external debt amounted to ₴3.863 trillion or $101.7 billion. At the end of the year, the amount of public debt increased by ₴396.81 billion in hryvnia terms and by $4.49 billion in dollar terms.
According to Danylo Hetmantsev, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada’s Finance Committee, the national debt has doubled since the beginning of the war. In 2023, the figure grew by 35.4% (₴1.444 trillion) in hryvnia and by 30.4% (+$33.9 billion) in foreign currency.
He explained that the growth of the debt was influenced by the receipt of macro-financial assistance (concessional loans) from the EU worth €18 billion, which accounted for 55% of the total growth of the state debt in hryvnia equivalent and 61% in foreign currency. The growth was also influenced by loans from the IMF, World Bank, EBRD, and Canadian government programs.
