(Bloomberg) — External debt payments will average more than 16% of government revenue for the world’s poorest countries this year, the highest level since 1998, Debt Justice, the UK group formerly known as Jubilee Debt Campaign, said in a report published Tuesday.
(Bloomberg) — External debt payments will average more than 16% of government revenue for the world’s poorest countries this year, the highest level since 1998, Debt Justice, the UK group formerly known as Jubilee Debt Campaign, said in a report published Tuesday.
The figure will rise to 16.7% next year, an increase of more than 150% since 2011, the group said. The last time the debt burden was so high, world leaders introduced a debt-relief plan that ultimately led to as much as 80% of debts being canceled for the most indebted poor nations.
“Debt payments are reaching crisis levels in many countries,” Heidi Chow, the group’s executive director, was quoted as saying. “We urgently need fast and comprehensive debt relief schemes across all external creditors, including legislation in the UK and New York to make private lenders take part in debt cancellation.”
Sri Lanka, Laos, Pakistan, Zambia and Dominica are among the world’s most indebted countries, with external debt payments that will take up more than 30% of government revenue between 2022 and 2024, according to the group, which cited World Bank data.
About half of the debt is due to private lenders, another 30% to multilateral institutions, 12% to Chinese public and private lenders, and 12% to other governments, it said.
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