NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Debt Management Office (DMO) of the Ministry of Finance is mandated under Section 61 of the Public Debt Management Act, 2021, passed by Parliament in March and enacted in July, to prepare and publish public debt statistical bulletins (PDSB) no later than 30 calendar days after the end of each quarter of the fiscal year.
In keeping with this mandate, the December 2021 PDSB represents the second centralized collection of and dedicated publication on public debt statistics in The Bahamas by the DMO.
As prescribed in the act, the content of the report includes:
- The outstanding stock of all public sector debt.
- The size and currency composition of the public sector debt.
- The interest rate mix of the public sector debt.
- The maturity profile of the public sector debt.
The central government’s debt stock aggregated $10,317.9 million at end-December 2021 for respective gains of $230.9 million from end-September 2021 and $900 million from end-December 2020.
The outstanding debt represented an estimated 96.4 percent of GDP at end-December 2021, compared with an estimated 98.1 percent at end-September and 95.1 percent at end-December 2020,
The debt stock of the public sector (ie central government, agencies and government business enterprises — GBE) aggregated an estimated $11,636.3 million at end-December 2021 — a gain of $207.6 million over end-September 2021 and $822.4 million over end-December 2020.
Dissemination of timely, consistent, comprehensive, reliable and internationally comparable public debt statistics represents a key element of the government’s commitment to promote accountability and transparency in debt management activities.
It also contributes to informed decision-making of domestic policymakers for sustainable macroeconomic growth, and is an invaluable source of information for international organizations, investors and other stakeholders who have an interest in the management of public debt in The Bahamas.
The ministry invites and encourages the public to visit the national Budget Website at www.bahamasbudget.gov.bs to view the various statistical reports available to the public.
