Indonesia's external debt dropped in February 2025, recorded at 427.2 billion US dollars (USD), down from 427.9 billion USD in January 2025.

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Indonesia's external debt decreased in February 2025, recorded at 427.2 billion US dollars (USD), down from 427.9 billion USD in January 2025.

On an annual basis, the growth of Indonesia’s external debt moderated to 4.7 percent (year on year/yoy) in the reporting period from 5.3 percent (yoy) in January 2025, Bank Indonesia (the central bank) said in its written report as quoted by Indonesia Window on Sunday.

The latest external debt developments were influenced by moderation in the public sector, coupled with a contraction observed in the private sector.

The position of external debt in February 2025 was also influenced by broad-based US dollar appreciation against most global currencies, including Indonesia’s currency, rupiah.

The Indonesian government external debt decreased.

The Indonesian government's external debt position in February 2025 stood at 204.7 billion USD, retreating from 204.8 billion in January 2025.

Annually, the growth of the government external debt slightly decelerated to 5.1 percent (yoy) from 5.3 percent (yoy) in January 2025.

The latest external debt developments were primarily influenced by a rebalancing of non-resident investor funds from domestic government securities (locally known as SBN) to other investment instruments in response to persistently high global financial market uncertainty.

The Indonesian government remains firmly committed to maintaining credibility by fulfilling principal and interest payments promptly, accompanied by prudent and measured external debt management, to ensure efficient and optimal financing.

The external debt, as a component of the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (known as APBN) financing instruments, is consistently geared towards supporting government expenditures and sustaining economic growth momentum.

By the economic sector, the government external debt was used to support various sectors, including human health and social activities (22.6 percent of the total government external debt); public administration, defence and compulsory social security (17.8 percent); education (16.6 percent); construction (12.1 percent); transportation and storage (8.7 percent); as well as insurance and financial services (8.2 percent).

The current state of the government external debt remains manageable considering nearly all, or 99.9 percent of the total government external debt is dominated by long-term maturities.

The growth of the private external debt experienced a contraction. In February 2025, the position of the private external debt remained stable at 194.8 billion USD, with growth sliding into a deeper 1.6 percent (yoy) contraction after declining 1.3 percent (yoy) in January 2025.

Such developments were driven by financial corporations and non-financial corporations, which recorded 2.2 percent (yoy) and 1.5 percent (yoy) contractions, respectively.

By sector, the main contributors to the private external debt were the manufacturing industry; insurance and financial services; electricity and gas supply; as well as mining and quarrying, collectively contributing 79.6 percent of the total private external debt. Furthermore, 76.5 percent of the total private external debt was dominated by long-term tenors.

The structure of external debt in Indonesia remains sound, supported by prudent management. Such developments are reflected in a lower external debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio of 30.2 percent in February 2025, down from 30.3 percent in January 2025, with long-term debt dominating 84.7 percent of the otal external debt.

Seeking to maintain a healthy structure, Bank Indonesia and the government will continue strengthening coordination to monitor external debt developments.

The role of external debt will also continue to be optimized to support financing for development and promote sustainable national economic growth. Such efforts are undertaken by minimizing the risks posed to economic stability.

The latest external debt data and metadata are presented in the publication of Indonesia's External Debt Statistics (SULNI), April 2025 edition, on the Bank Indonesia website. This publication is also accessible via the Indonesian Ministry of Finance website.

Reporting by Indonesia Window