Central Bank releases data: Notable increase in Turkey's external debt

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (TCMB) has published the "Turkey External Debt Statistics" for the second quarter of 2026.

According to the data, the total gross external debt stock increased by 3.5 percent in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter. Thus, Turkey's total gross external debt reached the level of 539 billion dollars.

Increase in short and long-term debt

In the second quarter, short-term external debt increased by 2.5 percent to 170.7 billion dollars, while long-term external debt rose by 3.9 percent to 368.2 billion dollars.

When evaluated on a sub-sector basis, the public sector's external debt increased by 3.3 percent to 197.9 billion dollars. While the private sector's external debt increased by 4.2 percent to 318 billion dollars, the TCMB's external liabilities decreased by 4.8 percent to 23.1 billion dollars.

THE LARGEST PORTION OF EXTERNAL DEBT CONSISTED OF LOANS

In the distribution of the external debt stock by instrument, loans held the highest share. While loans accounted for 46.2 percent of the total external debt, the share of debt securities was recorded at 19.5 percent, and the share of deposits was 17.2 percent.

NEARLY HALF OF THE DEBT IS DENOMINATED IN DOLLARS

In the currency distribution, the dollar ranked first by a wide margin. While 48.9 percent of the total external debt consisted of dollars, the share of the euro was 28.8 percent, the share of the Turkish lira was 12.2 percent, and the share of other currencies was 10.1 percent.

LONG-TERM STRUCTURE STANDS OUT IN REPAYMENTS

According to the repayment projections for loans and debt securities, the weight of principal repayments is concentrated in maturities of 24 months and longer.

While principal repayments between 13-24 months remained relatively limited, a repayment structure primarily stemming from private sector loans was observed in the short term of 0-12 months.