Short-term External Debt

Short-term External Debt is the stock of outstanding debt owed by residents of a country, in both the public and private sectors, to non-residents with an original maturity of one year or less. It includes loans, trade credits, deposits and other financial liabilities denominated in foreign or domestic currency when the creditors are abroad. It is a key measure of rollover risk and short-term exposure to external financing pressures; the precise definition may vary by country. This indicator is part of Latin Macro Watch, the macroeconomic database maintained by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Coverage

The Short-term External Debt series spans 16 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, available at annual, monthly and quarterly frequency over the 1990–2026 period. Values are reported in many units, including millions of USD, % of GDP, % of total exports, % of total imports, % of total external debt and months of total imports, each available as end-of-period and period-average variants. Transformations include 3-, 6- and 12-month moving averages (MA3, MA6, MA12) and month-over-month, quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year percentage changes (MoM %, QoQ %, YoY %).

Sources

The data are compiled from national central banks and statistical offices, including Banco Central do Brasil, Banco Central de Chile, Banco de la República de Colombia, Banco de Mexico (Banxico), Banco de Guatemala and INDEC - Argentina, among other official agencies across the region.

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Format	CSV
Language	en
Country	Argentina Bahamas Trinidad & Tobago Belize Costa Rica Dominican Republic Ecuador Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia El Salvador Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Panama Uruguay Venezuela Barbados Paraguay Peru Suriname
Data notes	What does Short-term External Debt measure? It measures the stock of debt owed by a country's residents, public and private, to non-residents with an original maturity of one year or less, including loans, trade credits and deposits held by foreign creditors. It is a key gauge of rollover risk and short-term external financing exposure. How many countries and which frequencies and period are covered? The series covers 16 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean at annual, monthly and quarterly frequency, spanning the 1990–2026 period. What units and transformations are available? Values are available in millions of USD, % of GDP, % of total exports, % of total imports, % of total external debt and months of total imports, each as end-of-period and period-average variants. Transformations include MA3, MA6 and MA12 moving averages and MoM %, QoQ % and YoY % changes. Where does the data come from? The data are compiled from national central banks and statistical offices, including Banco Central do Brasil, Banco Central de Chile, Banco de la República de Colombia, Banco de Mexico (Banxico), Banco de Guatemala and INDEC - Argentina, among other official agencies. What are typical uses of this indicator? Analysts and policymakers use Short-term External Debt to assess rollover and liquidity risk, gauge external vulnerability, and compare short-term financing exposure across Latin America and the Caribbean. How do I cite this indicator? Cite it as: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Latin Macro Watch — "Short-term External Debt". data.iadb.org/dataset/latin-macro-watch-dataset.