Title page 1

Contents 6

Foreword 11

Acknowledgments 14

Key Takeaways 15

Abbreviations 18

PART 1. Overview 20

1. Analysis of External Debt Stock and Debt Flows as of End-2024 21

Trends in External Debt, 2014-24 21

Trends in Domestic Debt, 2014-24 27

Debt Servicing Burdens of LMICs, 2014-24 33

Trends in External Debt Flows, 2014-24 38

Trends in Net Transfers on External Debt, 2014-24 42

Key Debt Indicators, 2014-24 44

Trends in External Debt of IDA-Eligible Countries, 2014-24 49

Regional Perspectives 56

Debt Restructuring, 2024 74

2. Debt Dynamics: Policy Implications and Future Outlook 81

Debt Dynamics: Policy Implications 81

Current Debt-Growth Dynamics 81

Growth Outlook in Low- and Middle-Income Countries 84

Domestic Debt in Low-Income Countries: Recent Developments 98

High Debt, High Fragility: Interlinked Risks to Development 103

3. Advancing Debt Transparency 112

Introduction 112

Borrower Countries 113

Progress in Direct Public Debt Disclosure 113

Policy Reforms and Institutionalization 114

Reporting to the World Bank Debtor Reporting System 115

Reconciling Borrower and Creditor Data 116

Measuring Progress: Data Revisions and Transparency Outcomes 120

Improved Debt Management Capacity, Standards, and Methodology 124

Next Steps: Institutionalizing Debt Transparency Gains 125

Notes 126

References 127

PART 2. Aggregate and Country Tables 129

ALL LOW- AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES 130

EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC 131

EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA 132

LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 133

MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA, AFGHANISTAN, AND PAKISTAN 134

SOUTH ASIA 135

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA 136

AFGHANISTAN 137

ALBANIA 138

ALGERIA 139

ANGOLA 140

ARGENTINA 141

ARMENIA 142

AZERBAIJAN 143

BANGLADESH 144

BELARUS 145

BELIZE 146

BENIN 147

BHUTAN 148

BOLIVIA 149

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 150

BOTSWANA 151

BRAZIL 152

BURKINA FASO 153

BURUNDI 154

CABO VERDE 155

CAMBODIA 156

CAMEROON 157

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC 158

CHAD 159

CHINA 160

COLOMBIA 161

COMOROS 162

CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF 163

CONGO, REPUBLIC OF 164

CÔTE D'IVOIRE 165

DJIBOUTI 166

DOMINICA 167

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 168

ECUADOR 169

EGYPT, ARAB REPUBLIC OF 170

EL SALVADOR 171

EQUATORIAL GUINEA 172

ERITREA 173

ESWATINI 174

ETHIOPIA 175

FIJI 176

GABON 177

GAMBIA, THE 178

GEORGIA 179

GHANA 180

GRENADA 181

GUATEMALA 182

GUINEA 183

GUINEA-BISSAU 184

GUYANA 185

HAITI 186

HONDURAS 187

INDIA 188

INDONESIA 189

IRAN, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF 190

IRAQ 191

JAMAICA 192

JORDAN 193

KAZAKHSTAN 194

KENYA 195

KOSOVO 196

KYRGYZ REPUBLIC 197

LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 198

LEBANON 199

LESOTHO 200

LIBERIA 201

MADAGASCAR 202

MALAWI 203

MALDIVES 204

MALI 205

MAURITANIA 206

MAURITIUS 207

MEXICO 208

MOLDOVA 209

MONGOLIA 210

MONTENEGRO 211

MOROCCO 212

MOZAMBIQUE 213

MYANMAR 214

NEPAL 215

NICARAGUA 216

NIGER 217

NIGERIA 218

NORTH MACEDONIA 219

PAKISTAN 220

PAPUA NEW GUINEA 221

PARAGUAY 222

PERU 223

PHILIPPINES 224

RWANDA 225

SAMOA 226

SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE 227

SENEGAL 228

SERBIA 229

SIERRA LEONE 230

SOLOMON ISLANDS 231

SOMALIA, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF 232

SOUTH AFRICA 233

SRI LANKA 234

ST. LUCIA 235

ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES 236

SUDAN 237

SURINAME 238

SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC 239

TAJIKISTAN 240

TANZANIA 241

THAILAND 242

TIMOR-LESTE 243

TOGO 244

TONGA 245

TUNISIA 246

TÜRKIYE 247

TURKMENISTAN 248

UGANDA 249

UKRAINE 250

UZBEKISTAN 251

VANUATU 252

VIET NAM 253

YEMEN, REPUBLIC OF 254

ZAMBIA 255

ZIMBABWE 256

APPENDIX 257

Data Sources 258

Country Groups 260

Regional Groups 260

Income Groups 261

Glossary 262

Tables 10

Table 1.1. External Debt Stock of Low- and Middle-Income Countries, 2014-24 21

Table 1.2. Net Debt Inflows to IDA-Eligible Countries, 2014-24 51

Table 1.3. External Debt Stock and Net Financial Flows and Transfers, East Asia and Pacific, 2014-24 56

Table 1.4. External Debt Stock and Net Financial Flows and Transfers, Europe and Central Asia, 2014-24 59

Table 1.5. External Debt Stock and Net Financial Flows and Transfers, Latin America and the Caribbean, 2014-24 62

Table 1.6. External Debt Stock and Net Financial Flows and Transfers, Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, 2014-24 65

Table 1.7. External Debt Stock and Net Financial Flows and Transfers, South Asia, 2014-24 68

Table 1.8. External Debt Stock and Net Financial Flows and Transfers, Sub-Saharan Africa, 2014-24 71

Figures 8

Figure 1.1. Creditor Composition of Long-Term External Debt Stock in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, 1970-2024 23

Figure 1.2. Change in Domestic and External Government Debt, Selected Low- and Middle-Income Countries, 2023-24 29

Figure 1.3. Change in External vs. Domestic Government Debt, Selected Low- and Middle-Income Countries, 2023-24 32

Figure 1.4. Low- and Middle-Income Countries' Interest Payments on External Debt, by Debtor Type, 2014-24 34

Figure 1.5. Average Terms on New External Debt Commitments for Low- and Middle-Income Countries, by Creditor Type, 2014-24 35

Figure 1.6. Interest Payments on Public and Publicly Guaranteed Debt for Low- and Middle-Income Countries, by Type of Interest Rate, 2014-24 36

Figure 1.7. Interest Payments on Public and Publicly Guaranteed Debt of Low- and Middle-Income Countries, by Region and Creditor Type, 2022-24 37

Figure 1.8. Net Debt Inflows, by Maturity, Low- and Middle-Income Countries, 2014-24 38

Figure 1.9. Long-Term External Debt Flows to Low- and Middle-Income Countries, by Borrower Type, 2022-24 39

Figure 1.10. Bond Flows to Low- and Middle-Income Countries, by Borrower Type, 2023-24 40

Figure 1.11. Long-Term Net Transfers on External Debt in Low-and Middle-Income Countries, by Debtor Type, 2014-24 42

Figure 1.12. Long-Term Net Transfers on Public and Publicly Guaranteed External Debt in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, by Creditor Type, 2014-24 43

Figure 1.13. External Debt-to-GNI and Interest Payments-to-GNI Ratios for Low- and Middle-Income Countries and IDA-Eligible Countries, 2014-24 45

Figure 1.14. Creditor Composition of IDA-Eligible Countries' Long-Term Public and Publicly Guaranteed External Debt during Crises, 2014-24 50

Figure 1.15. Net Flows to IDA-Eligible Countries, by Region and Creditor Type, 2024 52

Figure 1.16. Average Terms on New External Debt Commitments for IDA-Eligible Countries, by Creditor Type, 2014-24 53

Figure 1.17. Net Transfers on Public and Publicly Guaranteed Debt in IDA-Eligible Countries, by Creditor Type, 2022-24 55

Figure 1.18. Net Debt Flows for East Asia and Pacific Countries (Excluding China), by Creditor Type, 2022-24 57

Figure 1.19. Net Long-Term Debt Inflows from Private Creditors to Select East Asia and Pacific Countries, 2023 and 2024 58

Figure 1.20. Net Debt Flows to Europe and Central Asia, by Creditor Type, 2014-24 60

Figure 1.21. Bond Flows to Europe and Central Asia, by Borrower Type, 2023 and 2024 61

Figure 1.22. Net Debt Flows to Latin America and the Caribbean, by Creditor Type, 2014-24 63

Figure 1.23. Bond Flows to Latin America and the Caribbean, by Borrower Type, 2023 and 2024 64

Figure 1.24. Net Debt Flows to the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, by Creditor Type, 2014-24 67

Figure 1.25. Bond Flows to the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, by Borrower Type, 2023 and 2024 67

Figure 1.26. Net Inflows of Long-Term Public and Publicly Guaranteed and Private Nonguaranteed External Debt to South Asia, by Borrower Type, 2022-24 69

Figure 1.27. External Debt Stocks as a Share of Exports of Goods, Services, and Primary Income and GNI, South Asia, 2023 and 2024 70

Figure 1.28. Net Debt Flows to Sub-Saharan Africa (Excluding South Africa), by Creditor Type, 2022-24 72

Figure 1.29. Net Transfers to Sub-Saharan Africa (Excluding South Africa), by Borrower Type, 2014-24 73

Figure 2.1. GDP Growth and Year-on-Year Percentage Growth in External Debt Stock, by Region, 2015-24 82

Figure 2.2. Correlation between GDP Growth and External Debt Stock Year-on-Year Percentage Growth, by Region, 2015-19 vs. 2020-24 83

Figure 2.3. Growth in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, 2022-27 85

Figure 2.4. Inflation in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, 2024-27 87

Figure 2.5. Policy Rates in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, 2022-25 88

Figure 2.6. Current Account Balance and Foreign Direct Investment, Low- and Middle-Income Countries, 2000-24 90

Figure 2.7. Government Revenues as a Share of GDP, 2010s and 2020s 93

Figure 2.8. Economic Policy Uncertainty, 2000-09, 2010-19, and 2020-25 93

Figure 2.9. Share of Domestic Public Debt in Low-Income Country Debt Sustainability Framework Countries, 2014 and 2024 99

Figure 2.10. Composition of Public Domestic Debt in Low-Income Country Debt Sustainability Framework Countries, 2024 100

Figure 2.11. Distribution of Real Interest Rate on Domestic Debt, 2024 101

Figure 2.12. Low-Income Debt Sustainability Framework Countries with Claims Exceeding 25 Percent of Balance Sheet, by Type of Investor, 2014 vs. 2023 103

Figure 2.13. Food and Nutrition Security, by Country Debt Level 106

Figure 2.14. Risk and Vulnerability, by Country Debt Level 108

Figure 2.15. Institutional Capacity, by Country Debt Level 110

Figure 3.1. Public Debt Disclosures by IDA-Eligible Countries, Access and Coverage, 2020 and 2024 114

Figure 3.2. Share of Countries Improving or Backsliding on Debt Reporting Heat Map, by Number of Debt Transparency PPAs Implemented, 2021-24 115

Figure 3.3. Debtor Reporting System Reporting Timetable, 2019-24 116

Figure 3.4. Debt Stock of Newly Matched Loans between End-2021 and End-2023, G-7/Paris Club Data-Sharing Exercise 118

Figure 3.5. Asymmetries between Creditor and Borrower Claims on Debt Outstanding Position at End-2023 119

Figure 3.6. Ex Post Revision of Commitments, Low- and Middle-Income Countries (Excluding China), 2014-24 122

Boxes 8

Box 1.1. External Debt Data: Concepts, Sources, and Coverage 24

Box 1.2. World Bank Income and Lending Classifications Used in International Debt Report 2025 26

Box 1.3. The World Bank's Role in Developing Domestic Financial Markets 30

Box 1.4. Debt-to-GDP and Debt-to-GNI Ratios, and Accounts Rebasing 45

Box 1.5. Côte d'Ivoire: World Bank-Supported Debt-for-Development Swap 79

Box 2.1. Trade Volatility and Debt Sustainability in Low-Income Countries 94

Box 3.1. Guinea-Bissau: A Commitment to Debt Transparency 120

Box Figures 8

Figure B1.2.1. Number of Low- and Middle-Income Countries Covered in International Debt Report 2025, by FY2026 Income and Lending Groups 27

Figure B1.4.1. Variation in GDP levels 48

Figure B2.1.1. Export Earnings and External Debt Stock, Low-Income Countries, 2005-24 94

Figure B2.1.2. Ratio of Debt Service to Exports, 2014 vs. 2024 95

Figure B2.1.3. Five-Year Rolling Volatility of Exports Earnings, 2009-24 96

Figure B2.1.4. Export Volatility in Low-Income Countries, by Debt Risk Category, 2014-24 97

Figure B3.1.1. External Debt Stock: Comparison of DRS and Debt Bulletins, 2023 and 2024 121