KARACHI: Pakistan`s debt profile is `alarming` while the country`s borrowing and spending habits were `unsustainable`, according to a report released by Islamabad-based think tank Tabadlab.

The 68-page report, titled `A raging fire: Pakistan`s debt crisis`, was released on Sunday, reported Dawn.com. It said that the country`s total debt and liabilities including domestic and external debt to be at Rs77.66 trillion, or $271.2 billion in 2023.

The report said that Pakistan`s external debt was primarily borrowed from a range of creditors: Paris Club (6.3 per cent), multilaterals (30.1pc), other bilateral (19.1pc), commercial banks and T-bills (4.9pc), Eurobonds (6.3pc), the International Monetary Fund (5.7pc), banks (5.1pc) and private sector liabilities (12.7pc).

It noted that Pakistan`s debt per capita had also grown from $823 in 2011 to $1,122 in 2023, a 36pc increase in 12 years. At the same time, the country`sgross domestic product (GDP) per capita had declined from $1,295 in 2011 to $1,223 in 2023, a 6pc decrease. It stated that this meant that the country`s debt was growing `at a much larger pace than its income, widening financing gaps [and] necessitating further borrowing`.

The report said that since 2011, Pakistan`s external debt had nearly doubled while the domestic debt had increased by six-fold, of which the country would need to pay back an estimated $49.5bn in debt maturities 30pc of it being interest.

`Debt accumulation has been overwhelmingly used to continue fostering a consumption-focused, import-addicted economy, without investment in productive sectors or industry,` the report said.

It said that this raised alarm bells over the country`s debt profile, and its borrowing and spending habits termed `unsustainable`.

It noted the increasing demands of a growing population such as social protection, education and health and climate change-related disasters which needed `adaptation strategies and a transition to green energy`.