Press Release

Source: Central Communications Unit, Ministry of Finance, The Bahamas
Date: February 19, 2026
Contact: MOFcomms@bahamas.gov.bs

In keeping with Section 61 of the Public Debt Management Act, 2021, the December 2025 Public Debt Statistical Bulletin (“PDSB”) represents the eighteenth official report on public debt statistics in The Bahamas prepared by the Debt Management Office (the “DMO”) of the Ministry of Finance.

At end-December 2025, public sector debt outstanding was estimated at $13,885.9 million, reflecting increases of $321.4 million (2.4 percent) compared with end-September 2025 and $699.7 million (5.3 percent) relative to the same period in the previous year. The quarterly movement was mainly driven by an expansion in the central Government the debt stock of $337.3 million (2.8 percent) to $12,406.8 million—for an estimated 75.1 percent of GDP. Conversely, the combined debt of Agencies and Government Business Enterprises declined by $16.0 million (1.1 percent) to $1,479.1 million.

Since end-September 2025, external public sector debt rose by $223.2 million (4.0 percent) to $5,736.0 million, advancing its share of the total portfolio by 0.7 percentage points to 41.3 percent. This growth was largely associated with increased liabilities to multilateral agencies of approximately $240.6 million, with smaller variations posted across financial institutions, private capital market and bilateral creditors.

Over the same period, the domestic component of public debt expanded by $98.3 million (1.2 percent), to $8,149.9 million at end-December 2025. Growth was primarily due to additional claimsfrom the private sector ($90.7 million) and commercial banks ($45.5 million), which was partially offset by reductions in obligations to the Central Bank ($19.3 million) and public corporations ($17.8 million).

In terms of currency composition, 56.3 percent of the public sector debt stock was denominated in Bahamian dollars, 38.5 percent in U.S. dollars, and 5.2 percent in other foreign currencies. Regarding interest rate exposure, fixed-rate instruments accounted for 66.0 percent of the portfolio, and variable- rate debt the remaining 34.0 percent.

The Government remains committed to transparency and accountability in debt management activities and invites stakeholders to visit the national Budget Website (www.bahamasbudget.gov.bs) to view the various published reports.