Honduran Foreign Debt Pegged at US$3.2 Billion

The Central Bank of Honduras (BCH) reported Wednesday that the country's foreign debt through December 2009 stood at US$3.235 billion, compared to US$3.541 billion in December 2008. The amount represents a decline in the foreign debt of US$215.6 million, or 5.1 percent. According to the BCH, the public sector accounts for US$2.432 billion of the debt, or 75.2 percent, and the private sector US$803 million, or 24.8 percent. The foreign debt, which represents 16.9 percent of Honduras' Gross Domestic Product (GDP), would have been higher had the country not received US$182.1 million in debt pardons last year. (2/26/10)

For the sake of comparison, Honduras' foreign debt at the end of 2001 was estimated at US$5.051 billion. At the start of 2006, the debt was estimated at US$5.22 billion. By the end of 2006, the debt was down to about US$3.83 billion, due largely to significant debt pardons negotiated by the government of President Ricardo Maduro (2002-2005) under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program overseen by the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF). In January 2006, the IMF condoned US$155 million of Honduras' foreign debt. In July 2006, the WB canceled US$1.185 billion of the country's debt. In December 2007, under the government of President Manuel Zelaya (2006-2009) the Honduran foreign debt was down to US$3.411 billion. (2/26/10)