Jakarta – The government has confirmed that Indonesia’s foreign debt (ULN) remains safe and under control, despite an increase in April 2026. Bank Indonesia (BI) stated that the national debt structure remains healthy, dominated by long-term debt and maintained at a stable ratio to gross domestic product (GDP).
According to Bank Indonesia (BI) data, Indonesia’s foreign debt reached US$439.8 billion in April 2026, representing a 1.9 percent increase compared to the same period last year. This increase was primarily driven by rising public sector debt, while private sector debt continued to contract.
Ramdan Denny Prakoso, Executive Director of Bank Indonesia’s Communications Department, revealed that the government’s foreign debt reached US$216.4 billion, a 3.7 percent year-on-year increase. This increase was slightly lower than the previous month’s growth.
“The government’s external debt reached US$216.4 billion in April 2026, growing by 3.7 percent, slightly lower than the 3.8 percent growth recorded the previous month. This was primarily due to slower growth in the government’s foreign borrowing,” Denny said.
Bank Indonesia noted that the majority of government debt is allocated to the health and social activities sector (22 percent), government administration, defense, and mandatory social security (20.5 percent), and the education sector (16.2 percent). Furthermore, almost all government debt is long-term, accounting for 99.99 percent of total government external debt.
On the other hand, private external debt was recorded at US$193.2 billion, a decrease of 0.7 percent. The largest private debt contributions came from the manufacturing industry, financial services and insurance, electricity and gas procurement, and mining and quarrying sectors.
“Indonesia will continue to optimize the use of foreign debt to support development financing and encourage sustainable national economic growth,” Denny said.
Meanwhile, M. Rizal Taufikurahman, Head of the Center for Macroeconomics and Finance at the Indonesian Defence Institute (Indef), assessed that Indonesia’s foreign debt, equivalent to approximately Rp7,784 trillion, remains at a safe level. However, he cautioned that the rising debt trend remains a concern.
“Although still within safe limits, the rising debt trend requires vigilance because it has the potential to increase interest burdens and narrow fiscal space in the future,” he said.
Rizal added that debt risk can still be controlled as long as the funds obtained are used for productive activities and are able to drive economic growth.
“As long as debt is used for productive activities that can boost economic growth and strengthen fiscal capacity, the risks that arise can still be managed well,” he concluded.