Indonesia's External Debt Grows by 0.8 Per Cent in First Quarter 2026

Bank Indonesia (BI) recorded Indonesia’s external debt position in the first quarter of 2026 at US$ 433.4 billion, or approximately Rp 7,654 trillion (at an exchange rate of Rp 1,7660 per US dollar). This position grew by 0.8 per cent annually, a slowdown compared to the 1.9 per cent growth recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025.

“The development of the external debt position was influenced by both public sector and private sector external debt,” said Ramdan Denny Prakoso, Executive Director of the Bank Indonesia Communications Department, in a press release on Monday, 18 May 2026.

BI noted that the government’s external debt position in the first quarter of 2026 reached US$ 214.7 billion, growing by 3.8 per cent annually. This growth was lower than the 5.5 per cent year-on-year increase seen in the fourth quarter of 2025. Denny stated that the development of government external debt was primarily driven by foreign capital inflows into international Sovereign Bond (SBN) holdings. By economic sector, government external debt was utilised to support Health Services and Social Activities (22.1 per cent); Government Administration, Defence, and Mandatory Social Security (20.2 per cent); Education Services (16.2 per cent); Construction (11.5 per cent); and Transport and Warehousing (8.5 per cent).

Meanwhile, the private sector external debt position in the first quarter of 2026 was recorded at US$ 191.4 billion, a decrease from US$ 194.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025. On an annual basis, private external debt contracted by 1.8 per cent.

The decline in external debt occurred within the financial institution borrower group and non-financial corporate external debt, which both saw annual contractions of 3.6 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively. By economic sector, the largest share of private external debt originated from the Manufacturing Sector; Financial and Insurance Services; Electricity and Gas Supply; and Mining and Quarrying, accounting for 80.4 per cent of total private external debt.

Denny stated that Indonesia’s external debt structure remains healthy, as reflected by the ratio of external debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which fell to 29.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 from 30.0 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025. “Indonesia’s (external debt) is dominated by long-term debt, with a share of 85.4 per cent of the total external debt,” he added.