The Central Bank of Nicaragua published its first-quarter 2026 total external debt report, showing an outstanding balance of USD 16.3526 billion for public and private borrowers combined. The stock was up USD 107.5 million, or 0.7%, from December 2025, reflecting a USD 87.0 million increase in public external debt and a USD 20.5 million increase in private external debt. Public sector debt accounted for 54.6% of the total, or USD 8.9236 billion, while the private sector represented 45.4%, or USD 7.4290 billion. By creditor type, 42.0% of total external debt was owed to multilateral official creditors, 30.0% to bilateral official creditors, 3.3% to commercial banks, and 24.6% to suppliers and other creditors. External debt disbursements during the quarter totaled USD 890.4 million, with 87.1% coming from private creditors and 12.9% from official creditors. Of that amount, 78.3% went to the private sector and 21.7% to the public sector, with the largest uses in electricity, gas and water, trade, manufacturing, financial intermediation, mining and construction. Debt service payments totaled USD 878.9 million, including USD 774.9 million in principal and USD 104.0 million in interest and commissions, with 80.2% paid by the private sector. Financial terms were described as similar to those recorded in 2025. Average contracted maturity for long-term private external debt was about 14 years at a weighted average interest rate of 5.35%, while public external debt had an average maturity of 21 years, including 10 years of grace, at an average interest rate of 2.88%.

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