Press Release

Source: Central Communications Unit, Ministry of Finance, The Bahamas

Date: August 20, 2026
Contact: MOFcomms@bahamas.gov.bs

In keeping with Section 61 of the Public Debt Management Act, 2021, the Debt Management Office (the “DMO”) of the Ministry of Finance is pleased to release the June 2026 Public Debt Statistical Bulletin—the twentieth in the series of official quarterly reports on public debt statistics in The Bahamas.

As at end-June 2026, public sector debt outstanding was estimated at $14,696.5, an annual expansion of $1,276.1 million (9.5%) since end-June 2025. Central Government’s debt closed the fiscal year at an estimated $12,466.1 million, up $696.9 million (5.9%) year-over-year, and equivalent to an estimated to a slightly lower 70.7% of nominal GDP at end-June 2026. Outstanding indebtedness of Agencies and Government Business Enterprises rose by $579.1 million (35.1%) to $2,230.4 million, largely reflecting new financing secured to facilitate the acquisition of the Grand Bahama Power Company and funding activities of the newly established water desalination special purpose vehicle.

Based on currency composition, foreign currency-denominated debt increased by $352.3 million (5.8%) year-over-year and represented 43.6% of the total portfolio, for a 1.5 percentage point decline in share. The Bahamian Dollar component grew by $923.7 million (12.5%), lifting its proportion of the portfolio to 56.4%.

External creditor exposure rose to $5,798.4 million, a gain of $249.7 million (4.5%), and largely explained by new multilateral lending of $234.5 million (19.1%) in the form of policy-based loans from the Inter-American Development Bank and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean. Domestic creditors’ claims advanced by $1,026.2 million (13.0%) to $8,898.1 million, led by a $732.6 million (24.1%) increase in commercial banks’ holdings of government paper.

Annual public sector debt service, inclusive of refinancing operations, totaled $3,341.2 million, a decline of $1,740.7 million (34.3%) from the prior year, which had been elevated by the central government’s external bond liability management exercise. The portfolio’s interest rate mix continued to shift toward fixed-rate obligations, which accounted for 64.6% of total debt at end-June 2026, up from 63.5% a year earlier.

The Government of The Bahamas remains committed to promoting timely, consistent, comprehensive, reliable and internationally comparable public debt statistics, in support of transparency and accountability in debt management and to inform domestic policy makers, investors and other stakeholders. The full June 2026 Public Debt Statistical Bulletin along with other debt and fiscal publications are available at www.bahamasbudget.gov.bs.