The World Bank named Indonesia among the 10 countries with the highest external debt, the government said

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The World Bank released a report titled International Debt Statistics (IDS) on October 12, 2020.

In the report, Indonesia ranks seventh on the list of the 10 small and middle-income countries with the highest value of foreign debt in the world.

Overall, Indonesia’s external debt was recorded at US $ 402.08 billion in 2019.

The total value of debt is made up of external debts of the government, BUMN and the private sector.

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The total value of debt is below China with a total debt value of $ 2.1 trillion, Brazil, $ 569.39 billion, and India, $ 560.03 billion.

Furthermore, Indonesia’s debt value position is also below that of Russia with $ 490.72 billion, Mexico with $ 469.72 billion and Turkey with $ 440.78 billion.

The countries that rank below Indonesia are Argentina with a debt value of $ 279.3 billion, South Africa $ 188.1 billion and Thailand $ 180.23 billion.

Government response

In response to this, the Head of the Office of Information and Communication Services of the Ministry of Finance said that Rahayu Puspasari said that the report contained data and an analysis of Indonesia’s debt position compared to several small income countries and medium.

However, the expected comparison report does not include developed countries. So you can see that Indonesia’s position is included in the group of 10 countries with the highest external debt.

Furthermore, Indonesia’s external debt structure continues to be dominated by long-term external debt, which accounts for 88.8% of total external debt.

“The government manages the debt with the principle of prudence (prudence) and measurable (accountability),” he explained, quoted from a written statement, on Wednesday (10/14/2020).

Rahayu said that in the comparison presentation, it was seen that Indonesia’s debt between these countries was considered large because the Indonesian economy was included in the group of G20 countries at position 16.

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Because the economy is large, public debt (excluding BUMN and private sector) is relatively low, that is, 29.8 percent in December 2019.

“Compared to the 10 countries mentioned yesterday in various press articles, most of the government’s debt is above 50 percent, while Indonesia’s position is well below it,” Rahayu said.

“The government continues to coordinate, in this case with Bank Indonesia, to monitor the development of foreign debt and optimize its role in supporting development financing, minimizing risks that may affect economic stability,” he added.

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