Saddam’s Debts
(latest estimates)
The Iraqi people shouldn't pay Saddam's bills
Google News (debt)
Google News (rep.)
Debts Today | Reparations | Origins of Debt | Odious Debt
N.B. The links to country pages in the table related to old pages which haven't been updated since 2003, for the latest news on each country use the links on the right side bar.
| Even G7 finance ministers differ over the level of Saddam's debts. The table below gives various estimates of the loans. It is being updated whenever new values appear. A reasonable current estimate from the figures below ranges from $119.3-$135.8, this fits with the IMF figure of $125bn. This excludes the UNCC reparations, currently standing at $31.2bn (with $71.6bn of unsettled claims) and the less firmly grounded Iranian claim for $97.2bn or Iraqi-Jewish claims of up to $100bn. The table below is divided into (1) Paris Club, (2) Other Soverigns (3) Commerical and Multilateral. (4) Post-Saddam loans, these are not included in the totals because it is not clear when/if they will be disbursed. | |||
| Country | ($bn) | Date | Source and Notes |
1.Paris Club |
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| On 10 July 2003 the Paris Club issued a list of its claims, totaling $21bn excluding interest, which has generally been assumed to double the claims to $42bn. However it seems unlikely that the interest was exactly equal to the debt, and anyway interest has continued to accumulate, this may account for some of the divergence, as may fluctuations in the dollar assuming the loans denominated in various currencies | |||
| Australia | 0.5 | 1991 | Paris Club, AU$635 (Aust. Wheat Board) |
| Austria | 0.8 | 1991 | Paris Club |
| Belgium | 0.2 | 1991 | Paris Club |
| Brazil | 0.2 | 1991 | Paris Club |
| Canada | 0.6 | 1991 | Paris Club |
| Denmark | 0.03 | 1991 | Paris Club, more info here |
| Finland | 0.2 | 1991 | Paris Club |
| France | 3 | 1991 | Paris Club |
| Germany | 2.4 | 1991 | Paris Club |
| 3.9 | 2003 | The official number from the German ministry of finance, on Handelsblatt (03/04/25) | |
| Italy | 1.7 | 1991 | Paris Club |
| Japan | 4.1 | 1991 | Paris Club |
| 7.02 | 2003 | $4.109bn + $2.919bn in arrears. Export credit $6.46bn, Japan Bank for International Development (JBIC) $550m. (June 11th) | |
| Korea | 0.05 | 1991 | Paris Club |
| Netherlands | 0.1 | 1991 | Paris Club, but $303m quoted in July 2004 |
| Russia | 3.4 | 1991 | Paris Club, much higher figures are quoted elsewhere, up to $16bn, because the Paris Club applies a special 65% writedown to all Soviet-era debt, a partial recognition than much of this was odious military debt. |
| Spain | 0.3 | 1991 | Paris Club, although it may be lower |
| Sweden | 0.1 | 1991 | Paris Club |
| Switzerland | 0.1 | 1991 | Paris Club |
| 0.7 | 2003 | Exotix | |
| 0.3 | 2003 | Swissinfo | |
| UK | 2 | 2003 | £620m principal, £525m interest (No.10) |
| 0.9 | 1991 | Paris Club | |
| US | 2.2 | 1991 | Paris Club |
2.Other soverigns |
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| Bulgaria | 1.512 | 1995 | 22nd Bulgarian-Iraq Committee on Cooperation Does not include interest. |
| 1.7 | 2003 | Exotix (Iraq: Just the Debt, April 2003) | |
| China | 5.8 | 2004 | AFP, a vaguer claim of "billions" (ABC). |
| Czech Rep. | 0.147 | 2004 | 4bn Koruna, only 100m civilan, according to Prime Minister 5/1/04 |
| Egypt | ?? | ?? | CSIS - probably a creditor, but undisclosed |
| Hungary | 0.017 | 1995 | CSIS |
| India | 1 | 2003 | The Hindu, 14/4/03 |
| Jordan | 0.295 | 1991 | CSIS |
| 1.3 | 2003 | Minister of Finance, Michael Manto (July 15th) | |
| Kuwait | 17 | 1992 | CSIS |
| 27 | 2003 | MEES quoting Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) | |
| Morroco | 0.032 | 1999 | CSIS |
| Poland | 0.564 | 2003 | FT "Iraq after Saddam", 17/4/03 |
| 0.7 | 2003 | Boston Globe 20/4/03 | |
| Qatar | 4 | 2004 | Dow Jones 20/1/04, but some doubt |
| Romania | 1.7 | 2003 | (Bucharest Business Week on 21st April) |
| 2.5 | 2005 | source | |
| Saudi | 25 | 2002 | Arab News SR94bn, also Exotix, FT |
| 30 | 2004 | Gulf Daily News 7/1/04 - $24bn cash + $6bn oil | |
| Serbia | 1.8-2 | 2003 | Minister of Economy (Aleksandar Vlahovic). Serbia + Montenegro claim 38% of this (about $700-750m), with the remainer passing onto the rest of former-Yugoslavia. May not be soverign claims. |
| South Africa | 0.024 | 2003 | source |
| Turkey | 1.8 | 2003 | $800m principal, $1bn interest (Zaman) |
| UAE | 3.8 | 2004 | Dow Jones 20/1/04 |
3. Commerical & Multilateral |
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| The total trade debt is usually put at around $11bn (e.g. Herald Tribune 26/4/3) and the Multilateral debt is estimated by Exotix to be $1.1bn (this was before the $81m IMF debt was paid off, so a conservate estimate would put it at $1bn now). Not much information is available as to breakdown, but a details available are given below. Exotix has formed anIraq Creditors Club. | |||
| Korean companies | 1.7 | 2003 | Source, the largest claimant is Hyundai with $1.1bn |
| Japanese companies | 3.2 | 2004 | source, the Japanese government is being lobbied on these by the Japan Foreign Trade Council Inc., the Japan Machinery Center for Trade and Investment, the Japan Consulting Institute, and the Overseas Construction Association of Japan. |
| German companies | 2.1 | 2004 | It is not clear if this is in addition to the government's export credit claim. |
| London Club | 2.6 | 2003 | Syndicated loans issued by Rafidain Bank and others Reuters. Also loans in 1983 from Chase Manhattan (now J.P. Morgan Chase), Irving Trust (now Bank of New York) and BNP (now BNP Paribas) Forbes. Emergent Alternative Fund, Aberdeen Asset Management and Argo Capital Management all offer funds that dabble in Iraqi debt. (source Herald Tribune 26/4/3). Exotix is the main broker. |
| Arab Monetary Fund | 0.420 | 2004 | source |
| Arab Fund for Social and Economic Development | 0.166 | 1998 | |
| Islamic Development Bank | 0.125 | 1999 | source |
4. Post-Saddam loans |
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| IMF | 0.437 | 2004 | Announced 29 September 2004 |
| US Ex-Im Bank | 0.5 | 2004 | Signed 5 October 2004 |
| Islamic Development Bank | 0.5 | 2004 | Announced 6 October 2004 |
| domestic bonds | 0.1 | 2004 | 1st tranch on 18 July 2004, may increase to $1.2bn |
The Odious debt website also has a debt breakdown table
| Totals Loan Estimates | |
| Amount ($bn) | Source and Notes |
| $127 | CSIS in Jan 2003, including $47bn in accrued interest |
| $100-200 | US Department of Energy in 2003 |
| $142 | David Chance, Reuters 3/4/3 |
| $127.7 | World Bank in 2001 |
| $120 | Estimate in 2001 by Iraqi economist Abbas Alnaswari |
The estimates of debt in the tables above vary due to:
- Whether Gulf funds are counted. Both the Saddam regime and exiled economist Salah Al-Sheikhly consider this to be a grant.
- Calculation of and inclusion of interest accrued during the period since 1990, during which time Saddam declared a moratorium in repayments.
- Varying exchange rates to dollar of the different currencies in which the debt is denominated.
- Undisclosed creditors.
Has debt been overestimated? The UK Daily Telegraph writes (16th April) that "Iraq's debt burden has been exaggerated... many of Iraq's debts, especially to other Middle Eastern countries, are denominated in the Iraqi dinar, which has plunged in value." Does anyone have any information about this and what it would mean for debt estimates? None of the principal sources - CSIS, US Dept. of Energy, World Bank - have made this claim to my knowledge.
