According to a new report by the UN Global Crisis Response Group, entitled A World of Debt, a total of 52 countries – almost 40 per cent of the developing world – are in “serious debt trouble”, Mr. Guterres said, backing calls for them to receive urgent fiscal relief.
Key highlights
- In 2022, global public debt – comprising general government domestic and external debt – reached a record USD 92 trillion.
- Developing countries owe almost 30% of the total, of which roughly 70% is attributable to China, India and Brazil.
- Public debt has increased faster in developing countries compared to developed countries over the last decade. The rise of debt in the developing world has mainly been due to growing development financing needs – exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, and climate change – and by limited alternative sources of financing.
- Consequently, the number of countries facing high levels of debt has increased sharply from only 22 countries in 2011 to 59 countries in 2022.
- Today, 3.3 billion people live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on education or health. A world of debt disrupts prosperity for people and the planet.
- Public debt can be vital for development. Governments use it to finance their expenditures, to protect and invest in their people, and to pave their way to a better future. However, it can also be a heavy burden, when public debt grows too much or too fast. This is what is happening today across the developing world.
- Developing countries’ total public debt increased from 35% of GDP in 2010 to 60% in 2021. Similarly, external public debt, the part of a government’s debt owed to foreign creditors, increased from 19% of GDP to 29% of GDP in 2021.
