Jordan’s net public debt climbs

AMMAN —  Jordan’s net public debt increased by 3.2 per cent to JD21.20 billion at the end of May 2015 from JD20.56 billion at the end of last year.

According to data from the Finance Ministry, the public debt, as a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP), decreased by 2.7 per cent to 78.1 per cent from the estimated GDP for 2015, compared to 80.8 per cent at the end of 2014.

The ministry attributed the higher amount of debt to the increase of guaranteed loans by the government to the National Electric Power Company and the Water Authority of Jordan during the first five months of this year.

The external debt accounted for 29.6 per cent of the estimated GDP for 2015, compared to 31.6 per cent of the 2014 GDP.

The internal public debt accounted for 48.6 per cent of the estimated GDP for 2015 compared to 49.2 per cent at the end of 2014.

The internal public debt increased to JD13.2 billion at the end of May 2015, compared to JD12.5 billion at the end of 2014.