Developing countries spent a record $1.4 trillion on foreign debt in 2023, with interest payments rising by a third.

Developing countries spent a record $1.4 trillion on foreign debt in 2023, with interest payments jumping by a third to $406 billion, squeezing budgets for health, education, and the environment. The poorest nations, eligible for World Bank financing, paid a record $96.2 billion in service costs. Total external debt for these countries reached a record $8.8 trillion, up 8% from 2020. Multilateral institutions provided more funding than they collected in debt service payments.

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