Rwanda’s public debt reached the equivalent of 74.8 percent of gross domestic product by the end of June 2025, according to a report published on April 27 by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning rising from 69.6 percent recorded at the same point in 2024, but landing below the government’s own projected ceiling of 80.5 percent.

In absolute terms, the country’s total debt stock grew from 12,790 billion Rwandan francs in June 2024 to 16,099 billion francs by June 2025. The Ministry of Finance attributed the more favorable-than-projected outcome to disciplined fiscal management, an upward revision of the country’s GDP figures, and a deliberate strategy of phasing the financing of large infrastructure investments to reduce pressure on the public balance sheet in any single fiscal year.

The structure of that debt is, by design, heavily weighted toward concessional financing, the category of loans offered by multilateral and bilateral creditors at below-market interest rates, typically between zero and 1.5 percent, with repayment periods that can extend between 20 and 40 years and grace periods of up to two decades before the first payment is due. According to the Ministry of Finance, 88.2 percent of Rwanda’s external borrowing falls into this category. Of the 13,222 billion francs in external debt recorded by June 2025 equivalent to 61.5 percent of GDP, concessional loans accounted for 11,666 billion francs, or 54.2 percent of GDP.

Loans from multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the African Development Bank made up 9,938 billion francs of that total, while bilateral agreements with foreign governments accounted for a further 1,727 billion francs. The remaining external exposure consists of commercial borrowing: Eurobond issuances totaling 891 billion francs and other commercial loans of 589 billion francs, which together represent roughly 6.7 percent of GDP. Domestic debt bonds and treasury instruments held by local investors and institutions stood at 2,877 billion francs by June 2025.

Servicing that debt is becoming more expensive. External debt service rose from 247.6 million dollars in the 2023-2024 fiscal year to 285.6 million dollars in 2024-2025, representing 9.1 percent of export revenues, compared with 8.7 percent the year before, and 9.5 percent of government revenue, up from 8.1 percent. On the domestic side, interest payments on locally held debt increased from 236 billion to 259 billion francs over the same period, even as principal repayments declined slightly, a signal that the cost of domestic financing is rising even as maturities are being extended.

The government’s official position is that the current debt trajectory is manageable and consistent with Rwanda’s long-term fiscal framework, which targets a nominal debt anchor of 65 percent of GDP by 2033. Central to that argument is the nature of the investments the debt is financing. The two largest capital commitments driving recent borrowing are the construction of the New Kigali International Airport in Bugesera and the recapitalization and expansion of the national carrier, RwandAir, projects the government classifies as revenue-generating infrastructure with long-term returns. Together, the government’s equity contributions to both the airport and the airline are expected to total 1.12 billion dollars through 2029, alongside 80 million dollars to clear RwandAir’s existing liabilities.

Fitch Ratings, which affirmed Rwanda’s long-term foreign currency rating at B+ in March 2026, projects that public debt will peak at approximately 79 percent of GDP in 2027 before beginning a gradual stabilization. That assessment aligns broadly with the government’s own projections, though it underscores that the path through 2027 will require sustained fiscal discipline as infrastructure spending peaks. The Ministry of Finance has indicated it will continue prioritizing concessional financing, expanding the domestic bond market, and increasing tax revenue collection as the primary tools for keeping debt within sustainable bounds.