ULAN BATOR, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia's total foreign debt reached 7.24 billion U.S. dollars in the third quarter, up 12 percent from the same period last year, the country's central bank said Wednesday.

As of the third quarter, foreign debt accounted for about 60 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), according to the central bank.

"We have many challenges ahead. In particular, the government is due to pay back 5.4 billion U.S. dollars in total in 2021-2022," said Bayartsaikhan Nadmid, president of the Bank of Mongolia.

"So, we need to pay special attention to increase foreign currency reserves," he said.

Mongolia's foreign currency reserves reached 3.4 billion dollars at the end of the third quarter, a new high since 2013, he added.

The mineral-rich country has a population of 3.2 million and an economy of 12 billion dollars.

The country's economy is heavily dependent on the mining industry that contributes to about a quarter of the country's GDP and around 90 percent of its exports.