P.U.P. Administration Celebrates Debt Reduction From 133% of G.D.P. to 64 % of G.D.P.

Prime Minister John Briceño

One of the significant strides made by the Briceño administration in the 2022/2023 fiscal year was the reduction of public debt. Today, Prime Minister Briceño boasted a decrease of more than one billion dollars in public debt since taking office, reducing the deficit from one hundred and thirty-three percent of G.D.P. to one hundred and one percent of G.D.P. in their first year, to sixty four percent of G.D.P. in 2022. PM Briceño described this achievement as a historic feat.

Prime Minister John Briceño

“In December 2022, the total public debt stood at four thousand and thirty one million dollars, for the equivalent of sixty one percent of GDP. Two thousand seven hundred and sixteen million dollars represented loans to external lenders while one thousand three hundred and fourteen million dollars was owed by government to domestic creditors. Sixty seven cents of every dollar of debt is owed to foreign creditors and thirty three cents of every dollar to local creditors. To meet the terms of this debt stock during this fiscal year government paid some one hundred and twelve million dollars in interest and ninety seven point five million dollar in principal repayments. Of every dollar in total revenue and grants this year government therefore paid eight cents in interest. The average interest rate in public debt comes just under three percent, though rising interest rate globally will nudge upwards the cost of financing public debt. Each year going back twenty years the IMF, based on what it calls a debt sustainability analysis, has appraised Belize’s public debt as unsustainable. In contrast, this administration, through its public debt administration has reduced the debt owed by government by over one billion dollars.”