Foreign Debts Decline 7%

Iran’s overseas debts have declined from $10.03 billion reported at the end of the fiscal third quarter (Dec. 21, 2018) to $9.3 billion by the end of the fourth quarter (March 20, 2019), indicating a 7% decline.
According to the latest report of the Central Bank of Iran published on its website, the medium- and long-term debts amounted to $7.18 billion by March 20, accounting for 77% of total foreign debts. Short-term debts stood at $2.15 billion during the period, or 23% of total foreign debts. 
In a forecast about Iran’s economy, the World Bank had said its foreign debt would drop to $9.3 billion by the end of the last fiscal year. However, the global lender predicted that Iran’s foreign debt would rise in the current fiscal year to $10.1 billion. 
The ratio of Iran’s external debt to GDP is projected to reach 2.5 for 2019-20 by the World Bank, which is comparatively lower than of many countries. 
A comparison between Iran’s foreign debt and those of developed countries shows the former’s financial liabilities are insignificant and among the lowest worldwide. 
According to the magazine Global Finance, the United States, as the world’s largest economy, was also the largest global debtor to foreign creditors in 2017. 
The US owed $18.3 trillion to foreign lenders in 2018, followed by the eurozone with $14.2 trillion and the United Kingdom with $7.4 trillion.