Short-term debt (% of total external debt) in Nicaragua
Nicaragua: Short-term debt (% of total external debt) was 9.1% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Short-term debt in Nicaragua, 1970–2025
Source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total external debt.
Analysis
In 2025, short-term debt in Nicaragua stood at 9.1%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 13.1% on the previous year and down 18.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, short-term debt in Nicaragua peaked at 32.8% in 1978 and was at its lowest, 7.3%, in 2021.
That places Nicaragua 58th out of 123 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 56 years of available data.
Short-term debt (% of total external debt) in Nicaragua, year by year
| Year | % of total external debt | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 19.8% | — |
| 1971 | 19.9% | +0.9% |
| 1972 | 20.6% | +3.3% |
| 1973 | 21.1% | +2.3% |
| 1974 | 21.3% | +1.1% |
| 1975 | 21.7% | +1.8% |
| 1976 | 21.8% | +0.6% |
| 1977 | 31.6% | +44.9% |
| 1978 | 32.8% | +3.7% |
| 1979 | 24.3% | -25.9% |
| 1980 | 20.8% | -14.5% |
| 1981 | 13.6% | -34.8% |
| 1982 | 13.9% | +2.4% |
| 1983 | 16.2% | +16.8% |
| 1984 | 14.0% | -13.3% |
| 1985 | 14.5% | +3.2% |
| 1986 | 14.8% | +1.8% |
| 1987 | 18.8% | +27.4% |
| 1988 | 19.4% | +3.2% |
| 1989 | 21.0% | +8.1% |
| 1990 | 22.2% | +5.9% |
| 1991 | 15.7% | -29.4% |
| 1992 | 16.3% | +3.7% |
| 1993 | 16.8% | +3.3% |
| 1994 | 18.6% | +10.7% |
| 1995 | 16.9% | -8.9% |
| 1996 | 12.9% | -24.1% |
| 1997 | 13.2% | +2.9% |
| 1998 | 11.5% | -12.9% |
| 1999 | 13.1% | +13.3% |
| 2000 | 13.4% | +2.3% |
| 2001 | 10.6% | -20.9% |
| 2002 | 8.6% | -18.3% |
| 2003 | 8.7% | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 9.8% | +11.9% |
| 2005 | 10.8% | +10.5% |
| 2006 | 14.7% | +36.7% |
| 2007 | 28.1% | +90.8% |
| 2008 | 24.4% | -13.3% |
| 2009 | 16.9% | -30.6% |
| 2010 | 20.0% | +18.1% |
| 2011 | 18.3% | -8.4% |
| 2012 | 18.6% | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 16.6% | -11.0% |
| 2014 | 13.8% | -16.8% |
| 2015 | 11.1% | -19.3% |
| 2016 | 11.6% | +4.4% |
| 2017 | 11.3% | -2.4% |
| 2018 | 10.6% | -6.8% |
| 2019 | 8.8% | -16.6% |
| 2020 | 7.5% | -14.6% |
| 2021 | 7.3% | -3.2% |
| 2022 | 7.6% | +3.7% |
| 2023 | 7.3% | -3.0% |
| 2024 | 8.0% | +9.8% |
| 2025 | 9.1% | +13.1% |
Nicaragua compared with similar countries
- Nicaragua's 9.1% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 9.0%, 1.0× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Nicaragua's 9.1% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 9.1%, 1.0× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Short-term debt (% of total external debt) in Nicaragua changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | +90.8% | 14.7% | 28.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 23.5% | 19.8% | 32.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 16.7% | 13.6% | 21.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 15.7% | 11.5% | 22.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 14.6% | 8.6% | 28.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.1% | 8.8% | 20.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.8% | 7.3% | 9.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nicaragua
More external debt data for Nicaragua
- Net financial flows, IBRD -4.65 million NFL, current US$ (2001)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per capita -1.36 NFL, US$ per person (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per unit of GDP -0.0005 NFL, US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per square kilometre -235.99 NFL, US$ per square kilometre (2023)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per capita 10.27 NFL, current US$ per person (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0036 NFL, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per square kilometre 215.81 NFL, current US$ per square kilometre (2023)
- Use of IMF credit 571.18 million DOD, current US$ (2025)
- External debt stocks, public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) 7.44 billion DOD, current US$ (2025)
- External debt stocks, long-term 13.97 billion DOD, current US$ (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is short-term debt in Nicaragua?
- Short-term debt in Nicaragua was 9.1% in 2025, according to International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest short-term debt recorded in Nicaragua?
- The highest recorded value was 32.8% in 1978.
- What is the lowest short-term debt recorded in Nicaragua?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.3% in 2021.
- How does Nicaragua rank for short-term debt?
- Nicaragua ranks 58th out of 123 countries with data for 2025.
- Is short-term debt rising or falling in Nicaragua?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nicaragua data come from?
- The figures come from International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB), published as part of Short-term debt (% of total external debt). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Short-term debt includes all debt having an original maturity of one year or less and interest in arrears on long-term debt. Total external debt is debt owed to nonresidents repayable in currency, goods, or services. Total external debt is the sum of public, publicly guaranteed, and private nonguaranteed long-term debt, use of IMF credit, and short-term debt.