Iran’s foreign debt down 25.7%
Central Bank of Iran (CBI) figures show that foreign debt owed by the country dropped by more than a fourth in the 11 months to late February.
CBI figures cited in a Thursday report by the IRIB News showed that Iran’s foreign debt had reached $6.4 billion on February 19, down 25.7% compared to late March 2022.
Giving a breakdown of the debt figure in euros, the report said that Iran had some 1.6 billion euros worth of short-term debts and another 4.3 billion euros in long-term dues in late February this year.
Iran has lower foreign debt levels compared to other similar economies in the region and around the world.
That comes as the country has been grappling with financial difficulties in recent years mainly because of American sanctions targeting its energy sector as well as the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on its economy.
Experts say US sanctions on Iran have enabled the country to diversify its economy away from crude oil revenues.
They point to an expansion of the non-oil sector of Iran’s economy in recent years as a sign that the country has been relying less on oil revenues and more on exports from manufacturing and agriculture sectors.