Ukraine’s national debt grew 30.4% last year to a new historical high.

As of December 31, 2023, the state’s and state-guaranteed debt amounted to ₴5.519T, or $145.32B, reported the Ministry of Finance. The ratio of national debt to GDP was 85%. State and state-guaranteed foreign debt amounted to ₴3.863T or $101.7B. At the end of the year, state debt increased in hryvnia by ₴396.81B and in dollar terms by $4.49B.

As specified by the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Danylo Hetmantsev, the national debt has doubled since the beginning of the war. For 2023, the indicator in hryvnia increased by 35.4% (₴1.444T), in foreign currency by 30.4% (+$33.9B).

He explained that the growth in debt was influenced by the receipt of €18B in macro-financial assistance (soft loans) from the EU, which represents 55% of the total increase in the national debt in hryvnia and 61% in foreign currency. The increase was also influenced by receiving loans under programs from the IMF, the World Bank, the EBRD, and the Canadian government.