Developing Countries’ External Debt Hits Record $9.4 Trillion

Developing countries’ external debt rose 5.5% in 2025 to a record $9.4 trillion, according to the World Bank Group’s International Debt Report 2026. Debt in the most vulnerable countries eligible for concessional IDA financing increased 8.1% to $1.3 trillion. Developing countries paid $1.4 trillion in principal and interest in 2025, while payments to bondholders reached $363 billion. From 2022 to 2025, they paid $436 billion more in debt service than they received in new financing, but net debt flows turned positive in 2025, with a $45 billion inflow.