Published
04/03/2026, 15:35Budgetary targets have been tightened in Kyrgyzstan. The national budget deficit must now not exceed 3% of the country’s GDP, whilst public debt must not exceed 70% of GDP.
The relevant decree was signed by the Prime Minister, Adylbek Kasymaliev. In effect, this establishes the maximum ‘limits’ for budgetary policy, within which the state will plan its revenue, expenditure and borrowing.
In practice, the situation in 2025 remains well below the established limits. According to preliminary data, the national budget for 2025 is projected to run a surplus, whilst the level of public debt stands at around 39.45% of GDP.
An increase in borrowing is always viewed with concern, particularly when it comes to the burden on the budget and future repayments. In global practice, there is no single ‘correct’ level of public debt — everything depends on the economy, the currency and confidence in the state. But there are benchmarks.
In developed countries, such as the US or Japan, public debt may exceed 100% of GDP and this is considered normal, because they have stable currencies and high demand for their bonds. In the European Union, there is a formal benchmark of around 60% of GDP (the Maastricht criteria), although in practice many countries exceed this.
