Lopsided global financial system leaves many African states in debt distress
For the poorest countries, debt has become a nearly paralysing burden: 28 countries eligible to borrow from the World Bank’s International Development Association are now at high risk of debt distress. Eleven are in distress. PHOTO | FILE | NMG
The World Bank says that 24 of the world’s lowest income economies will spend $21.5 billion on financing their external public debt in 2024.
According to the Bank’s International Debt Report 2023, in 2022 — the latest year for which data are available —low- and middle-income countries paid a record $443.5 billion to service their external public and publicly guaranteed debt.
