Serbia's external debt at the end of September 2010 totalled EUR 23.1 billion, of which the debt of the public sector amounted to EUR 8.9 billion, while the private debt added up to EUR 14.2 billion, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) stated in a release.

The Analysis of the Republic of Serbia's Debt which the NBS posted on its website shows that the country's external debt dropped by EUR 342 million, or approximately 1.5 percent, in the third quarter of the year. Taking into account the strengthening of the euro against other currencies represented in the debt structure, the drop totalled EUR 383 million.

The proportion of Serbia's external debt and its GDP, which indicates the country's external solvency, was slightly below the high indebtedness level (80 percent), and totalled 77.1 percent at the end of September, which represents a 0.8 percent drop compared to late June.

Late in September, the public sector's external debt reached EUR 8.9 billion, of which the state's debt, including that of the NBS, totalled EUR 8.2 billion, while the state-guaranteed external debt added up to EUR 678.4 million.