At the end of the first quarter of 2026, Uzbekistan's total external debt stood at $82.2 billion. By comparison, the figure was $68.4 billion in the first three months of 2025 — meaning debt grew by nearly $13.8 billion, or 20 percent, over the year.
The Central Bank reported that $40.5 billion of this total is public external debt, while $41.7 billion is corporate external debt. Government debt rose by $4.7 billion over the year, while corporate debt grew by $9.1 billion.
"Corporate external debt reflects borrowing by the private sector, including business entities, raised without a state guarantee. The state bears no obligation for corporate external debt — repayments are made using the enterprises' and banks' own funds," the regulator explained in its commentary.
According to the data, Uzbekistan's total external debt held steady in January–March 2026 compared to the start of the year — in other words, the gross external debt balance remained at $82.2 billion throughout the quarter.
The Central Bank noted that the International Monetary Fund considers Uzbekistan's external debt burden to be low, pointing out that the loans were largely obtained on concessional terms.
For reference:The law on Uzbekistan's 2026 budget caps government external borrowing at $5 billion for the year. Half of the funds raised are intended to cover the state budget deficit, with the remaining $2.5 billion earmarked for financing investment projects.
Breakdown of Public External Debt
Of public external debt, $19.7 billion has gone toward covering the budget deficit. According to the ministry's analysis, the remaining funds were allocated as follows:
Fuel and energy sector — $5.6 billion
Transport — $3 billion
Agriculture and water management — $3.3 billion
Housing and utilities — $3.2 billion
Healthcare, education, information and communication technology, and other sectors — $3.6 billion
An additional $624 million was allocated to support entrepreneurship, and $607 million to develop the chemical industry.
Largest Creditors
Of public external debt, $22.3 billion (56%) came from international financial institutions. The largest single creditor is the World Bank, at $9.04 billion, followed by the Asian Development Bank, to which Uzbekistan owes $8.3 billion. The country also owes $2.3 billion to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and $1.1 billion to the Islamic Development Bank.
A further $11.6 billion (29%) of public external debt was raised from foreign governments' financial institutions — Chinese banks provided $3.9 billion, while the Japan International Cooperation Agency and other Japanese organizations provided $3.1 billion.
The remaining $5.8 billion of public debt was raised from investors through bond issuances.
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