According to the World Bank's International Debt Report 2026, Uzbekistan's external debt as of the end of 2025 amounted to $88.03 billion, representing an increase of 24.7% during the year.
Over the last decade, the country's debt to foreign creditors has increased by approximately 6.5 times, rising from $13.57 billion in 2015. The growth of Uzbekistan's external debt has outpaced that of neighboring countries and developing economies overall.
In Europe and Central Asia, total external debt increased by 15.3% in 2025, while the growth among low- and middle-income countries was 5.5%.
Of the total amount of $48.46 billion, state debt and publicly guaranteed obligations account for a portion. An additional $32.84 billion consists of external loans from private companies without state guarantees. Short-term debt reached $6.73 billion.
The largest share of Uzbekistan's state and publicly guaranteed debt is owed to international financial institutions, amounting to $22.82 billion. This sum includes $8.36 billion owed to the Asian Development Bank and $5.01 billion to the International Development Association, which is part of the World Bank Group. Debt to other multilateral creditors totals $9.45 billion.
Estimated debt to governments of foreign states reached $10.53 billion. The largest bilateral creditors are China with $3.85 billion and Japan with $2.99 billion; the remaining countries total about $3.7 billion.
Obligations to private creditors total $15.11 billion, accounting for approximately 31% of Uzbekistan's state and publicly guaranteed debt.
The international bond market has become one of the main sources of financing. In 2025, Uzbekistan issued bonds worth $3.9 billion, exceeding the issuance volume of any other country eligible for concessional financing from the International Development Association.
According to the report, the government issued bonds worth $1.6 billion, including securities denominated in the national currency. Another $2.4 billion was attracted by other state structures. However, these two figures total $4 billion, which exceeds the total issuance stated in the report of $3.9 billion by $100 million.
The World Bank also noted the high cost of Uzbekistan's borrowing in the market. The yield on bonds denominated in soums with a maturity of 2028 reached 15.5%. The report authors attribute this rate partly to inflation risks. Dollar-denominated bonds were issued at a yield of 7.38%.
Borrowing costs vary significantly depending on the source of financing. In 2025, official creditors—foreign governments and international organizations—provided Uzbekistan with loans at an average interest rate of 3.4%, with a repayment period of 21 years and a five-year grace period. Private creditors offered financing at an average rate of 8.6% over 10 years, with the grace period covering the entire loan term.
The burden of the country's debt relative to economic output has also increased. External debt reached 60% of gross national income and 227% of export revenue, with both indicators exceeding the previous year's level.
Simultaneously, debt service costs decreased relative to economic indicators. In 2025, payments on principal and interest amounted to 29% of export revenue and 8% of gross national income. Compared to 2024, these ratios decreased by 18.6% and 17.7%, respectively.
In the Europe and Central Asia region, external debt service costs in 2025 amounted to 25% of export revenue and 8% of gross national income. According to the World Bank, this was the highest debt service ratio to income among regions including low- and middle-income countries.
