Jordan's Public Debt Excluding SSIF Reaches $53.2B, 83.6% of GDP
External borrowing made up the bigger share of the balance, while total public debt including obligations to the Social Security Investment Fund passed $70.7bn by end-July.
Tariq Benali Tariq Benali covers business and corporate news across the UAE and MENA for Anecdoted, tracking the deals, leadership moves and regulatory shifts behind the region's companies. tariq@anecdoted.com
Strip out the Social Security Investment Fund's holdings and Jordan's public debt came to $53.2 billion (JOD 37.7 billion) at the close of the second quarter of 2026. The figure, taken from the Ministry of Finance's Q2 2026 Debt Quarterly Report, amounts to 83.6% of gross domestic product.
External borrowing carries the larger part of that balance. Net of SSIF holdings, it stood near $29.1 billion (JOD 20.6 billion) at the end of June. Domestic debt on the same basis came to roughly $24.1 billion (JOD 17.1 billion). The two components together account for the $53.2 billion total.
What the government owes the fund is tracked separately from that measure. Those obligations reached approximately $16.9 billion (JOD 11.98 billion) by the end of July, a claim on the state distinct from the debt it owes external and domestic creditors.
Add those obligations back in and the headline number climbs. Public debt passed $70.7 billion (JOD 50 billion) by the close of July, equal to 110.8% of GDP.
Growth and external financing
Jordan's economy grew 3% in the second quarter of 2026, a modest acceleration from 2.8% in the same period a year earlier.
In June 2026 the World Bank approved $700 million in financing for the country. The package is built around private investment and job creation. It includes measures to improve the business environment, widen access to finance and modernise capital markets, alongside backing for the digital and green transition. The program sits within a wider effort to convert fiscal and monetary stability into stronger private investment and faster employment growth.
Where the next phase of growth is expected
The 2026-2029 Economic Modernisation Vision puts higher-value industries at the centre of the plan. Mining, tourism, agriculture, renewable energy and digital services are the named priorities.
On foreign direct investment, the government is targeting a rise from about $3.9 billion (JOD 2.8 billion) in 2026 to more than $5.6 billion (JOD 4 billion) by 2029. Exports are meant to expand over the same period. Among the sectors it hopes to draw money into are food, pharmaceuticals, mining, advanced technology and green energy.
China as an investment partner
Jordan is also looking to China for future investment and technology partnerships. During King Abdullah II's state visit to Beijing in August, the two sides discussed expanding cooperation across trade, investment, agriculture, mining and tourism. Newer areas featured as well: renewable energy, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence and the digital economy.
