9 March (BNS)

The gross external debt of Estonia, or the external debt of all sectors of the economy combined, declined 5% year on year and stood at 15.7 billion euros at the end of 2011, a figure 2% smaller than the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

At the end of 2010 gross external debt was still 15% bigger than GDP, figures published by the Bank of Estonia show.

In external debt, the biggest reduction took place in the debt of credit institutions, whereas the external debt of other sectorsincreased.

Net external debt, or claims on external parties minus liabilities, declined threefold during the year to 1.1 billion euros, equalling 7% of GDP. The last time net external debt was at that level was 10 years ago, the central bank said.