Russia's public external debt as of February 1, 2026 amounted to $61.97 billion, according to data published on the Finance Ministry's website, RBC reported.
This is the highest level since 2006. According to the ministry's statistics, on January 1, 2006, the figure reached $76.5 billion, fell to $52 billion by January 1, 2007, and remained below $60 billion in subsequent years.
The Bank of Russia, for its part, estimated the country's total external debt as of January 1, 2026 at $319.8 billion. According to the regulator, it will increase by $30 billion, or 10.4%, in 2025, mainly due to the revaluation of liabilities of banks and other sectors against the backdrop of the strengthening of the ruble, as well as the attraction of debt financing.
External debt is all the obligations of residents of a country to foreign creditors. It includes the debt of the state, banks, companies and other organizations, as well as some loans.
Public debt is the obligations of state bodies. It can be domestic (to local creditors, usually in national currency) or external (to non-residents, usually in foreign currency).
Thus, public external debt is the part of external debt owed to the state, while external debt is broader and includes the private sector.