MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. Russia’s foreign national debt has topped $60 bln, according to statistics published by the Finance Ministry on the dynamics of external public debt for the period from 2011 to 2026.

TASS has collected the main facts about the development.

Growth of external public debt

- Russia’s foreign national debt has exceeded $60 bln, according to statistics published by the Finance Ministry.

- As of February 1, 2011, the country's foreign public debt stood at $39.7 bln.

- By February 1, 2026, the national debt had risen to $61.9 bln, according to the ministry’s documents.

Expert views

- It's not the size of public debt, but its share in GDP that matters. Russia remains one of the countries with the lowest public debt ratios among the world's largest economies, according to experts interviewed by TASS.

- Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said earlier that Russia's national debt is one of the lowest among major developed countries.

- This was also noted by Alexander Abramov, head of a laboratory analyzing institutions and financial markets at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.

- American investor Jim Rogers pointed out in his book that Russia, which is under Western sanctions due to the Ukrainian conflict, is in an even better financial position than Japan.

- Last December, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov stated that in the medium-term forecast, Russia's public debt was not expected to exceed 20% of GDP, which is an advantageous factor for the Russian economy. Currently, it stands at around 15% of GDP, he noted.