Sri Lanka’s total gross public debt increased to nearly Rs. 33 trillion by the end of June 2026, according to the latest Statistical Debt Bulletin issued by the Public Debt Management Office.
Total public debt stood at Rs. 32.977 trillion as of June 30, up from Rs. 32.233 trillion at the end of March — an increase of about Rs. 744 billion during the second quarter.
Despite the increase in rupee terms, the debt stock declined when measured in US dollars, falling from US$102.27 billion at the end of March to US$97.95 billion at the end of June. The bulletin notes that the June figures use a quarter-end exchange rate of Rs. 336.6623 per US dollar.
Central government debt accounted for the overwhelming majority, reaching Rs. 31.999 trillion, compared with Rs. 31.193 trillion at the end of March. Of this, domestic government debt amounted to Rs. 19.203 trillion, while external government debt stood at Rs. 12.796 trillion.
Government external debt increased from US$37.47 billion at the end of March to US$38.01 billion at the end of June, a nominal rise of US$540 million. Multilateral debt represented 38% of external government debt, commercial debt 34% and bilateral debt 28%.
Among bilateral creditors, China remained the largest, with US$5.01 billion outstanding, followed by Japan at US$2.27 billion and India at US$853.9 million.
Government-guaranteed debt of state-owned enterprises stood at Rs. 971 billion, while debt attributed to provincial councils and local government authorities amounted to about Rs. 7 billion.
The Public Debt Management Office’s Statistical Debt Bulletin for the second quarter of 2026 was issued on Aug. 28. (Newswire)
