Belarus' external debt more than doubled last year to $7.9 billion from $3.7 billion at the beginning of 2009, according to preliminary data from the Finance Ministry. Nearly all of that, or $7.8 billion, was public debt, while corporate debt decreased to $112 million from $130 million.
Minsk said that it is not worried by the increase in external debt, which last year amounted to 16.5 percent of the country's total gross domestic product.