Growth of Ukraine's debt in the hryvnia equivalent was caused by the weakening of the national currency / Photo from UNIAN
Ukraine's state and government-guaranteed debt in the hryvnia equivalent stood at UAH 1.572 trillion as of December 31, 2015, which was 42.78%, or UAH 470.932 billion, up on January 1, 2015, according to the Ukrainian Finance Ministry.
The state and government-guaranteed debt estimated in the U.S. dollar at the end of 2015 was $65.488 billion, which was 6.19%, or $4.324 billion down on the beginning of 2015.
In December 2015 alone, Ukraine's state and government-guaranteed debt in the U.S. dollar rose by 0.52%, or $338 million, and the debt estimated in the hryvnia equivalent was 1.01%, or UAH 15.573 billion, up.
The Finance Ministry says that the debt in the dollar equivalent shrank due to the successful restructuring and write-off of Ukraine's foreign debt.
At the same time, the growth of debt in the hryvnia equivalent was caused by the weakening of the national currency whose forex rate against the U.S. dollar increased to UAH 24 per U.S. dollar as of the end of 2015 compared to UAH 15.77 per U.S. dollar as of end of 2014.
What is more, the ministry said, the state debt also includes Kyiv City Council's local debt in 2005 and 2011 eurobonds, which was converted into state debt under a Cabinet decision dated December 18, 2015.
At the same time, the ministry stresses that as of the end of 2015, the actual amount of Ukraine's state debt was within the limits allowed by the country's 2015 national budget.