Tag Archives: Debt

International Debt Report 2025

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The International Debt Report (IDR) is a longstanding annual publication of the World Bank featuring external debt statistics and analysis for the low- and middle-income countries that report to the World Bank Debtor Reporting System (DRS).

For five decades the IDR, along with the associated International Debt Statistics (IDS) database, has helped shape policies in development finance by sharing timely and comprehensive external debt data and analysis with the international community. Drawing on data collected through the World Bank’s Debtor Reporting System, the IDR has tracked evolving borrowing patterns and new lending instruments over the years, measured the impact of initiatives to relieve debt burdens, and promoted best practices in debt recording and reporting.

The newly published IDR 2025 includes an analysis of end-2024 external debt flows and debt stock positions as well as the macroeconomic and debt outlook for 2025 and beyond, and updates on the debt transparency agenda.

In addition, the IDS-DSSI database includes the actual debt service deferred from by each bilateral creditor and the projected monthly debt-service payments owed to all bilateral creditors.

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“Credit: World Bank Group. All rights reserved”

The world needs radical debt transparency

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Over the past two decades, many developing countries have made remarkable progress in reducing poverty, expanding access to education and health care, and investing in infrastructure. These gains were the result of sound national policies and coordinated efforts by the international community, often financed through responsible borrowing.

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Developing Countries Paid Record $1.4 Trillion on Foreign Debt in 2023

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Financial Squeeze on Poorest Economies Tightened as Private Creditors Retreated

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 2024—Developing countries spent a record $1.4 trillion to service their foreign debt as their interest costs climbed to a 20-year high in 2023, the World Bank’s latest International Debt Report shows. Interest payments surged by nearly a third to $406 billion, squeezing the budgets of many countries in critical areas such as health, education, and the environment.

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1.2 Billion People at High Risk from Climate Change Worldwide

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Washington, October 31, 2024—1.2 billion people face life-changing risks through exposure to at least one critical climate hazard, such as heatwaves, flooding, hurricanes, and drought. However, a new report from the World Bank Group outlines how faster development and sustainable economic growth can reduce climate change-related economic and quality of life losses.

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Tackling the world’s hidden debt problem

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From the COVID-19 pandemic to advanced-economy interest-rate hikes, developments over the last few years have left many developing economies struggling to repay their debts. But the problem might be even bigger than the world realizes, as many sovereign debts are hidden, undisclosed, or opaque. This prevents policy makers and investors from making informed decisions.

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A silent debt crisis is engulfing developing economies with weak credit ratings

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Some developing economies are finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Global inflation is receding and global interest rates appear to have peaked, prompting a bond-issuance rush by these economies to refinance their debt before the opportunity vanishes. In early January, Mexico, Indonesia, and several other developing economies easily raised more than $50 billion from bond investors. 

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Building Green: Sustainable Construction in Emerging Markets

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Switching to greener technologies in construction and operation of buildings and materials, combined with more climate-friendly capital markets, could reduce the construction value chain’s carbon footprint 23 percent by 2035, while creating investment opportunities in emerging markets, according to a major report from the International Finance Corporation.

 
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Infrastructure, economics, and a sustainable future: A Chief Economist’s perspective

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In the 1990s, I embarked on a journey that took me from the classrooms of Paris to theinfrastructure-1440x500.jpg dusty countryside of Paraguay. Little did I know then that my diverse experiences, from peddling goods door-to-door to advising governments, would shape my role as an economist specializing in infrastructure and development. Now, as the Chief Economist for Infrastructure at the World Bank, I stand at the intersection of a complex global landscape. 

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