The Dominican Republic’s internal debt reached a milestone of US$16.61 billion during the first quarter of 2026. According to the latest public credit data, this figure represents a 7.22% increase compared to 2022 levels, Joel Suriel reports for N Digital.
This domestic debt is now 25.6% of the Non-Financial Public Sector (NFPS) debt, which cumulatively stands at 49% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). With the current exchange rate holding at RD$60.35 to the US dollar, the total internal debt translates to approximately RD$1.003 trillion (RD$1,002,751,460,000).
Four-year growth vs. GDP ratio
Over the past four years, the country’s internal debt has expanded by US$1.12 billion, climbing from the US$15.5 billion recorded in 2022 to the current US$16.61 billion.
Despite this nominal increase in dollar terms, the internal debt’s weight relative to the total NFPS debt has actually decreased. In 2022, internal obligations represented 29.9% of the NFPS debt, whereas in 2026, they have dropped by 4.3 percentage points to settle at 25.6%.
Intergovernmental obligations and recapitalization
A specific segment of this debt, totaling US$2.20 billion or 1.7% of the GDP, is classified as intergovernmental debt. These funds consist of bonds issued by the Central Government specifically for the recapitalization of the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic. By definition, intergovernmental debt refers to financial obligations contracted between two different state institutions.
Debt composition breakdown
The total NFPS debt remains heavily weighted toward international markets:
• External debt: 74.4% of the total, with an outstanding balance of US$48,213.4 million.
• Internal debt: 25.6% of the total, amounting to US$16,615.6 million (RD$1,002,751,460,000).
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N Digital
22 April 2026