Escalating debt challenges are inhibiting achievement of the SDGs


SDG indicators
Goal 17: Partnerships for the goals

Target 17.4: Assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring, as appropriate, and address the external debt of highly indebted poor countries to reduce debt distress.
Indicator 17.4.1: Debt service as a proportion of exports of goods and services (Tier I)

An increasing number of developing countries are on the brink or already in debt distress as they face cascading and overlapping crises – the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, a deepening climate crisis, and a cost-of-living crisis -—
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. Added to this, the daunting global macroeconomic environment including higher interest rates and banking stress in developed countries, tightening global financial conditions, US dollar appreciation, growth slowdown and falling commodity prices, have also taken their toll.

Keeping debt default at bay to prevent a systemic debt crisis has come at a cost, with debt servicing draining resources away from SDG priorities and the Paris Climate Agreement. The high increase evidenced by debt statistics indicate that we are living a development crisis.

An ambitious and comprehensive multilateral response is paramount to avoiding a possible systemic debt crisis which would deepen the existing development crisis.

As the UNCTAD Bridgetown Covenant -—
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stresses further efforts needed to implement initiatives that contribute to debt sustainability in developing countries, it also invites efforts to advance the discussion on debt treatment, debt transparency, data quality, debt management capacity-building and the rules of engagement, including with the private sector.

External debt stocks of developing countries more than doubled in a decade to reach US$11.4 trillion

The external debt stocks of developing countries reached US$11.4 trillion in 2022, more than double that recorded a decade ago (Figure 1). Compared to the pre-pandemic level (2019), the total external debt of developing countries in 2022 grew by 15.4 per cent. Since 2009, external debt stock has increased on average by 8.3 per cent per annum, compared to an average annual growth rate of 7.5 per cent in the decade before the Global Financial Crisis (2000-2008).

Figure 1. Total external debt of developing countries continues to rise
(Billions of current US$)

Source: UNCTAD calculations based on data from -—
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and national sources.

Note: Figures for 2022 are UNCTAD estimates. Data does not include IMF credit lines.

Meanwhile, the risk profile worsened. During 2009-2022, short-term debt rose at an average annual growth rate of 9.5 per cent compared to 7.8 per cent for long-term external debt. Consequently, although long-term external debt continues to account for most of the external debt stock of developing countries (68.4 per cent in 2022), the share of short-term debt in total external debt stock increased from 24.2 per cent in 2009 to 27.7 per cent in 2022. Regarding the long-term debt, the Public and PPG accounted for 51.7 per cent of the total and the PNG for 48.3 per cent in 2022, a slight change compared to 2009 (52.6 per cent and 47.4 per cent of the total, respectively).

Low-income developing countries face highest and worsening debt servicing ratios

Rising external debt burdens, along with increased risk profiles, translate into higher servicing costs. Debt service as a proportion of exports of goods and services (SDG indicator 17.4.1) measures a government’s ability to meet external creditor claims on the public sector through export revenues. Thus, it is an important indicator of debt sustainability. A fall (increase) in this ratio can result from increased (reduced) export earnings, a reduction (increase) in debt servicing costs, or a combination of both. A persistent deterioration of this ratio signals an inability to generate enough foreign-exchange income to meet external creditor obligations on a country’s PPG debt, and, thus, potential debt distress without multilateral support or effective sovereign debt restructuring.

Figure 2. Debt service increased significantly for LDCs and low-income developing economies
(Long-term external PPG debt, percentage of exports of goods and services)

Source: UNCTAD calculations based on data from -—
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and Economist Intelligence Unit -—
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Note: Figures for 2022 are UNCTAD estimates. Groups follow UNCTAD’s definition.

As Figure 2 shows, only high-income developing countries have maintained a stable ratio of external long-term PPG debt service to export revenues of around two to four per cent in the last decade. In contrast, a marked increase in debt service ratios was registered across all other income categories. In particular, the ratio for LICs increased dramatically from 4.1 per cent in 2012 to 17.7 per cent in 2022. The temporary fall in 2020 and 2021 was due to the G20 DSSI. A similar trend was observed for the group of LDCs, with the ratio of debt service on external long-term PPG to export increased significantly in the past decade from 4.8 per cent in 2012 to 11.3 per cent in 2022. For middle-income developing countries, although less pronounced, the increase was also significant: this ratio more than doubled, from 2.9 per cent in 2012 to 6.4 per cent in 2022.

Similarly, the share of government revenues dedicated to servicing long-term external PPG debt also rose sharply in recent years, particularly in the poorest developing economies (Figure 3). Whereas in 2012, LICs spent 4.7 per cent of their government revenues to meet external public debt obligations, this figure rose to 19.2 per cent in 2022, along the same lines as those observed for indicator 17.4.1. For the group of LDCs, this nearly tripled, with the ratio rising from 6.3 per cent in 2012 to 17.0 per cent in 2022. In the case of middle-income developing countries, this ratio more than doubled, from 3.9 per cent to 9.5 per cent in this period. These statistics underline the substantial diversion of domestic resources into servicing external debt.

Figure 3. Government revenues to service debt rising sharply for LDCs and low-income developing economies
(Long-term external PPG debt, percentage of government revenue)

Source: UNCTAD calculations based on data from -—
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Note: Figures for 2022 are UNCTAD estimates. Groups follow UNCTAD’s definition.

The worsening of these two external debt sustainability indicators for LICs is of concern. As LICs cut expenditures to free up resources to meet debt payments, pressure on essential public expenditure categories will continue to increase. Simultaneously, the capacity to generate export revenues to pay the external debt service will shrink even more in 2023 as global growth is estimated to slow down from 3.1 per cent in 2022 to 2.1 per cent in 2023, according to -—
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Debt overhang becoming a major obstacle to development and reaching the SDGs

Despite multilateral efforts, the debt problem in low-income and also many middle-income developing countries, three years after the COVID-19 pandemic, continues to deepen. External creditors continue to be paid while the SDGs are increasingly out of reach. This jeopardizes the delivery on existing international commitments, including the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement.

To achieve the SDGs, a radically different multilateral policy approach is needed, requiring a commitment by the international community to transform the global financial system by prioritizing the needs of developing countries, as put forward by the UNCTAD Bridgetown Covenant -—
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and the SDG Stimulus Plan -—
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★ UNCTAD in Action ★

DMFAS strengthening debt management for good governance and transparency

SDG Target 17.4 recognises the importance of assisting developing countries to attain long-term debt sustainability and reduce the risk of debt distress. Similarly, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda -—
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stresses the value of prudent borrowing as a tool for financing investment needed for development, and of the critical role of sound debt management in conjunction with debt relief and debt restructuring.

The Bridgetown Covenant -—
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also recognizes the importance of continued inclusive dialogue and cooperation with international financial institutions to advance discussions on debt transparency, data quality and debt management capacity. To this end, UNCTAD continues its analytical and policy work and technical assistance on debt issues, including DMFAS.

Debt data are a prerequisite for effective debt management

Many governments lack the appropriate human and technical capacity to handle public resources and liabilities effectively, as well as to prepare risk analysis and debt strategy. Weak capacity for debt recording and reporting is a significant challenge for developing countries especially. The DMFAS Programme helps governments to address these problems.

DMFAS showed a high level of overall effectiveness in the 2020-2021 period. […] DMFAS Programme enables countries to mobilize debt financing to address the needs of developing countriesIndependent Evaluator, Mid-Term review of the DMFAS Programme 2022

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Mandated by the UN General Assembly -—
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and UNCTAD member States, the UNCTAD DMFAS programme advises developing economies in debt management and helps them to record and report reliable debt statistics for policymaking. The programme offers countries a set of practical solutions for the management of public liabilities and the production of debt statistics, supported by the DMFAS debt management and financial analysis software, capacity development and advisory services. After its inception in the 1980s, DMFAS software is now used by 60 countries and 85 institutions around the world for debt management (Map 1). The software is available in four languages (English, French, Russian and Spanish).

Map 1. 60 countries around the world use DMFAS software for debt management, 2022

Source: UNCTAD reporting.

Note: Status as of end of 2022.

UNCTAD has trained 6 977 officers in debt management procedures and best practices between 2011 and 2022. In addition, 380 experts participated in each UNCTAD Debt Management Conference held every second year since 2011 – except for 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The participant numbers show a remarkable increase in female participants reaching 48 per cent in 2022 compared to 33 per cent in 2018. Nevertheless, this share still falls slightly short of the equal distribution observed in 2016 (Table 1).

Table 1. Women are on average well represented in DMFAS capacity development
(Number of participants and share of women)

20162018202020212022
Capacity development categoryTotal participantsShare of womenTotal participantsShare of womenTotal participantsShare of womenTotal participantsShare of womenTotal participantsShare of women
Capacity development for debt offices75150%69733%36145%61346%60948%
Training in debt validation, reporting, analysis and procedures28254%20935%7232%35047%21152%
Functional training in using DMFAS24456%21637%9155%22546%23648%
IT related training and advisory services15243%13217%5450%3531%6234%
Other advisory services7333%14039%14444%333%10045%
UNCTAD Debt management conference--------43144%

Source: UNCTAD reporting.

Debt data transparency and quality of reporting increasing

Over the last ten years, the use of DMFAS software by new countries and comprehensive reporting within the system have increased. In 2022, 93 per cent of countries recorded comprehensive external debt instruments in DMFAS and 79 per cent comprehensive domestic debt records.

The DMFAS capacity building also supports disseminating debt statistics and debt analysis. The number of DMFAS user countries that publish debt statistics bulletins and debt portfolio reviews on a regular basis has increased during the last ten years (Figure 4), despite a setback in 2020 mainly due to the disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Figure 4. Number of DMFAS user countries publishing regular debt reports has increased but plateaued last year

Source: UNCTAD reporting.

References

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