Romania’s External Debt Exceeds EUR 134 Billion

Romania’s external debt skyrocketed in 2021: EUR 7.44 billion were added to the country’s debt, which now reaches EUR 134.2 billion.

On December 31 of last year, the external long term debt reached EUR 97 billion, increasing by 3.7% compared to 2020 and the short term debt increased by 11.9% and reached EUR 37.21 billion, according to the National Bank of Romania. It must be taken into account that even in 2022, the Romanian Government borrowed EUR 7.7 billion only in January, setting up an unwanted new all-time monthly record.

As mentioned by Trading Economics, the Romanian GDP annual growth rate advanced by 2.2% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2021, easing sharply from a 7.4% growth in the previous period and below market consensus of a 4.8% gain. A preliminary reading showed that Romania has the weakest expansion in the sequence of all the European countries.

After 33 years since it paid off its foreign debt entirely, Romania has colossal debts and a struggling economy. Will Romania ever be able to pay off its debt once again? Rather not. Better asked, how much more will Romania borrow in the coming years?