Kathmandu. The burden of debt is increasing every year. According to the National Statistics Office, in the last fiscal year 2082/83, every Nepali had a debt burden of Rs 102,003.

Rising government spending, weak revenue collection, budget deficit and changes in the exchange rate of foreign currencies have contributed to the rise in public debt. Nepal’s total public debt stood at Rs 2,974.90 billion as of mid-July of the last fiscal year.

The public debt at the beginning of the fiscal year 2082÷83 was Rs 2,674.04 billion, which was Rs 385 million by the end of the last fiscal year.

The total public debt so far is 45.07 per cent of the country’s GDP. The share of foreign debt in the total public debt stood at 53.77 per cent and the share of internal debt was 46.23 per cent.

The government has paid Rs 386.22 billion in public loans till mid-July 2018. Out of which Rs 312.40 billion has been paid as principal and Rs 73.82 billion in interest.

At the beginning of the fiscal year, the domestic debt was Rs 1268.22 billion, which increased to Rs 1375.41 billion by mid-July.

The ratio of internal debt to GDP is equal to 20.84 percent. During this period, the government collected Rs 358.66 billion in internal loans and paid Rs 250.56 billion without interest.

Similarly, the outstanding external debt as of mid-July stands at Rs 1,599.48 billion. The external debt stood at Rs 1,405.82 billion as of mid-July last year.

During the period, the government spent Rs 61.84 billion excluding interest on external loans and added Rs 88.50 billion in external loans during the period. The external debt to GDP is 24.23 per cent.

The government has already collected Rs 447.18 billion in public debt against the target of Rs 595.66 billion for the fiscal year 2019/19. Public debt receipts during the period stood at 75.07 per cent against the annual target.

Of this, the share of internal and external debt stood at 99.08 per cent and 37.88 per cent, respectively. The share of internal and external debt in the total public debt was 80.21 and 19.79 per cent, respectively.