Turkmenistan has paid back almost all it owed China
Turkmenistan's public foreign debt owed to China, US$ billion, end of year, 2008–2025.
- 1. Central banks now hold more gold than Treasuries or euros
- 2. China now pays the world mostly in yuan
- 3. Migrants now send home four times all foreign aid
- 4. Tether now holds more US Treasuries than the UAE
- 5. Developing countries' interest bill has nearly tripled since 2010
- 6. Poles edge past the Japanese in income per person
- 7. In dollars, Nigeria's economy has more than halved since 2014
- 8. Argentina's monthly inflation fell from 25.5% to 1.9%
- 9. Guyana now produces more per person than America
- 10. Ukraine received four times the aid of any other country
- 11. Singapore now draws twice as much foreign investment as China
- 12. 22 governments now owe more than a year's national output
- 13. Money sent home to Guatemala nearly quadrupled in ten years
- 14. In purchasing power, Russia's economy is now bigger than Japan's
- 15. Colombians abroad now send home more than foreigners invest
- 16. 72 countries now pay China more than it lends them
- 17. Pakistan rose to first place in Chinese energy finance
- 18. Money sent home now tops half of Tajikistan's economy
- 19. Pakistan passed India in tech's share of services exports
- 20. Mongolia leapt from 2% to 58% paying utilities by phone
- 21. Smaller currencies' share of world reserves has more than doubled
- 22. Phone savers now outnumber bank savers in 32 countries
- 23. Uzbekistan now receives more than twice Ukraine's remittances
- 24. Fewer countries owe China more than the World Bank
- 25. Poorer countries now owe Saudi Arabia more than America
- 26. Cambodia's bank lending grew from 8% to 121% of GDP
- 27. Egypt tripled its ATMs per adult in ten years
- 28. Bank branches are past their peak in most countries
- 29. Guinea rose from 17th to second for investment in Africa
- 30. Navoi doubled its share of Uzbekistan's economy in ten years
- 31. Turkmenistan has paid back almost all it owed China
Owed to China at end-2025, down 99% from a peak of $7.3 bn in 2013.
China's share of Turkmenistan's public foreign debt, 2013 vs 2025.
Principal Turkmenistan paid China from 2014 to 2025; China went from almost its only lender to a sliver.
the numbers & method
| Year | China (bn) |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 0.16 |
| 2009 | 0.17 |
| 2010 | 1.21 |
| 2011 | 3.45 |
| 2012 | 5.53 |
| 2013 | 7.33 |
| 2014 | 6.58 |
| 2015 | 6.03 |
| 2016 | 4.89 |
| 2017 | 3.61 |
| 2018 | 2.62 |
| 2019 | 1.63 |
| 2020 | 0.65 |
| 2021 | 0.15 |
| 2022 | 0.12 |
| 2023 | 0.10 |
| 2024 | 0.08 |
| 2025 | 0.06 |
Claim types Fact
World Bank, International Debt Statistics (IDS), read from the World Bank API (source 6, last updated 2026-11-05) and via the progrss vault. Series: PPG bilateral debt stocks (DT.DOD.BLAT.CD) with counterpart China (730), identical to total PPG debt owed to China (DT.DOD.DPPG.CD, counterpart 730) in every year shown. US$, end of year: 2008 155.4 M; 2009 172.1 M; 2010 1,208.2 M; 2011 3,445.6 M; 2012 5,527.6 M; 2013 7,329.1 M (peak); 2014 6,578.5 M; 2015 6,024.6 M; 2016 4,890.1 M; 2017 3,614.2 M; 2018 2,616.8 M; 2019 1,627.7 M; 2020 653.6 M; 2021 153.2 M; 2022 119.5 M; 2023 97.5 M; 2024 76.4 M; 2025 60.7 M. Total public and publicly guaranteed external debt (DT.DOD.DPPG.CD, all creditors): 2013 8,053.6 M; 2025 2,399.0 M. Derived (progrss calculations): China's share 91.0% (2013) and 2.5% (2025); fall from peak 99.2%; debt owed to all other creditors 724.5 M (2013) and 2,338.3 M (2025). Principal repaid to China (DT.AMT.BLAT.CD, counterpart 730), 2014–2025 summed: 8,187.0 M, of which 1,118.1 M in 2014 and 18.6 M in 2025. Covers public and publicly guaranteed debt only; private non-guaranteed debt is not included. Takeaway 3's 'almost its only lender to a sliver' restates the shares above.
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