Kenya’s dollar-denominated debt hit 69.3% of the country’s external debt in October 2022, attributed to the sharp depreciation of the shilling against the US currency.
This translates to KES 3.02 trillion of Kenya’s external debt that rose to KES 4.35 trillion in October, with that proportion growing by 2.3% from 2021 and an increase of 3.4% compared to 2020.
Kenya’s National Treasury data shows the proportion of external debt denominated in the euro stood at 18.8% in the same month, 4.1% in yen, 5.3% in yuan, and 2.3% in pounds sterling while currencies accounted for 0.2% of the total external debt.
The National Treasury says overall, the national government’s external debt stock increased by KES 24.78 billion from KES 4,334.79 billion in September 2022 to KES 4,359.57 billion in October 2022.
Kenya’s public debt stock hit KES 8.74 trillion in October which is 62.3% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The domestic debt stock stood at KES 4.38 trillion (31.2% of GDP), while the external debt stock was KES 4.35 trillion (31.1% of GDP).
Kenya’s President William Ruto, however, says he has mapped a path to urgently improve the nation’s fiscal position in a bid to avoid the economic crises that befell emerging and frontier markets this year.
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