External debt
Who developing countries owe, and on what terms
The World Bank collects external debt from the governments that owe it, through the Debtor Reporting System. 120 economies report. In 2024 they owed $8.94T to nonresidents, of which China alone accounts for 27.1%. Stocks run from 1970 to 2024; the debt-service schedule runs further, and this page keeps the two apart.
Who the creditors are, 2000–2024
Public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) debt by creditor class, in percent of PPG, on a balanced panel of 112 countries that report in every year of the window. Private creditors held 41.5% of PPG in 2000 and 59.2% in 2024. Bilateral and other official creditors fell from 30.7% to 13.1%.
IDS bundles bondholders with commercial banks in one series, so this page cannot say “bondholders” where it means private creditors. The private share peaked at 62.2% in 2021 and stands at 59.2% in 2024. Multilateral lending bottomed at 23.5% in 2019 and is back to 27.74%, against 27.85% in 2000. Bilateral and other official is at its low for the window in 2024, at 13.1%.
Source: World Bank International Debt Statistics, Debtor Reporting System (reported by the borrowing government). Selection: DT.DOD.DPPG.CD (PPG stocks), DT.DOD.PRVT.CD (PPG owed to private creditors), DT.DOD.MLAT.ZS (multilateral debt, percent of total external debt, re-levelled onto dollars). Bilateral and other official is the residual: PPG minus private minus multilateral. IDS carries no bilateral series, so the third leg is derived. It is non-negative in all 5,705 country-years where the three inputs exist, which is asserted at build time. Methodology
The same shift, counted country by country
A weighted aggregate can be moved by one large debtor. China is 27.1% of the total stock, so the shares above are checked here against a headcount: the direction each of the 112 panel countries moved between 2000 and 2024.
| Creditor class | Share rose | Share fell | Nothing owed, both years | Countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private creditors | 67 | 36 | 9 | 112 |
| Bilateral and other official (residual) | 32 | 80 | 0 | 112 |
| Multilateral | 57 | 55 | 0 | 112 |
The bilateral retreat is the broad one: the share fell in 80 of 112 countries. The private-creditor share rose in 67 and fell in 36. The multilateral share is close to a coin flip, up in 57 and down in 55, and its aggregate share is 27.74% in 2024 against 27.85% in 2000, a gap of 0.11 points.
Source: World Bank International Debt Statistics, Debtor Reporting System (reported by the borrowing government). Selection: per-country creditor shares in 2000 and 2024, same balanced panel and same three legs as above. "Nothing owed, both years" counts countries whose PPG debt to that creditor class was zero or unreported in both endpoint years. Methodology
What the $8.94T is made of
The creditor composition above covers PPG debt only, because that is the only slice for which IDS reports creditor detail. PPG is 39.8% of the total. The rest is borrowed by companies and banks without a state guarantee, or is short-term, or is owed to the IMF. IDS defines total external debt as exactly this sum, and the four legs below close to 100%.
Source: World Bank International Debt Statistics, Debtor Reporting System (reported by the borrowing government). Selection: DT.DOD.DECT.CD (total), DT.DOD.DPPG.CD, DT.DOD.DPNG.CD, DT.DOD.DSTC.CD, 2024. Use of IMF credit is the residual: total minus long-term (DT.DOD.DLXF.CD) minus short-term. Reporters carrying each leg in 2024, out of 120: public and publicly guaranteed 120, short-term 120, the IMF residual 120, private nonguaranteed 93. A missing private nonguaranteed value is summed as zero, which is the one blank treated as a number here. The IMF residual is non-negative for every reporter, which is asserted at build time. Methodology
Debt service against export earnings, 2024
Total debt service as a percent of exports of goods, services and primary income: the share of foreign-currency earnings that leaves again to pay creditors. 108 of 120 reporters have this ratio in 2024. The 15 highest are shown.
| Country | Debt service, % of exports | Debt stock, % of exports | Reserves, % of debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Salvador | 96.2% | 207% | 15% |
| Haiti | 63.2% | 110% | 288% |
| Egypt, Arab Rep. | 49.2% | 233% | 29% |
| Kazakhstan | 48.4% | 175% | 27% |
| Mozambique | 46.5% | 715% | 6% |
| Papua New Guinea | 43.3% | 95% | n/a |
| Colombia | 43.0% | 256% | 31% |
| Senegal | 41.8% | 573% | n/a |
| Pakistan | 39.5% | 315% | 14% |
| Argentina | 38.3% | 235% | 12% |
| Uzbekistan | 36.0% | 221% | 59% |
| Mongolia | 32.0% | 225% | 14% |
| Jamaica | 31.9% | 193% | 38% |
| Zambia | 30.5% | 219% | 15% |
| Montenegro | 29.8% | 211% | 20% |
The 12 reporters with no 2024 ratio, because IDS carries no export figure for them: Afghanistan, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkmenistan, Yemen, Rep., Zimbabwe. Their absence from this ranking is a coverage gap, not a low burden.
Source: World Bank International Debt Statistics, Debtor Reporting System (reported by the borrowing government). Selection: DT.TDS.DECT.EX.ZS (debt service, percent of exports), DT.DOD.DECT.EX.ZS (stock, percent of exports), FI.RES.TOTL.DT.ZS (reserves, percent of total external debt), 2024. Methodology
The payment schedule, and why it falls
IDS carries years past 2024, but only for 2 of its 24 indicators, both of them debt service, and they run to 2032. These are not a forecast. They are the amortisation profile of debt already contracted: principal and interest that existing loans and bonds fall due to pay. Borrowing not yet done cannot appear in them, so the line falls mechanically, from $1.17T scheduled in 2025 to $381.98B in 2032.
The aggregate fall is not everyone’s fall. Against $1.29T actually paid in 2024, 79 of 120 countries are scheduled to pay more in 2025 than they paid in 2024, even though the aggregate falls.
Source: World Bank International Debt Statistics, Debtor Reporting System (reported by the borrowing government). Selection: DT.TDS.DECT.CD (total debt service) and DT.TDS.DPPG.CD (PPG debt service), summed each year over the economies carrying a value that year: 77 in 1970, 120 in 2024, 120 in 2025. This aggregate is not a balanced panel: countries enter IDS over time, so the early years sum fewer economies than the recent ones. Actual through 2024; 2025–2032 is the contracted repayment schedule. The boundary is derived from the last year of the debt-stock series, not hard-coded. Methodology
A different debt-service measure
The BIS publishes debt service ratios for 32 economies, of which 8 also report to IDS. It is a different measure on a different universe: the debt service of the private non-financial sector on all its debt, domestic and external, as a percent of income. External debt is inside it, and sovereign debt is not. It is shown here for the 8 countries in both datasets, beside the IDS ratio, so that a reader can see the two do not correspond.
| Country | BIS: private non-financial debt service, % of income | IDS: external debt service, % of exports |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 29.2% | 26.7% |
| Türkiye | 26.9% | 23.4% |
| China | 18.8% | 8.6% |
| Thailand | 13.5% | 4.7% |
| India | 12.2% | 10.5% |
| South Africa | 8.3% | 16.3% |
| Mexico | 5.4% | 9.5% |
| Indonesia | 4.4% | 24.7% |
Source: BIS Debt Service Ratios (WS_DSR), BIS Data Portal (data.bis.org). License: free with “Source: BIS” attribution. Selection: debt service ratio, borrowing sector "private non-financial sector" (P), 2025-Q4, quarterly, for the 8 BIS-reporting economies that also report to IDS. The IDS column is DT.TDS.DECT.EX.ZS in 2024, on a different numerator and a different denominator. The two columns are placed side by side to show that they do not correspond. Neither is a substitute for the other. Methodology
Coverage of each indicator, 2024
Coverage is not uniform. Across the 23 indicators that carry a 2024 value, the number of reporters runs from 64 to 120 of 120.
A missing value is not always a missing report, and IDS does not distinguish the two. PPG debt owed to the IBRD (DT.DOD.MIBR.CD) is carried by 64 of 120 reporters. The same ambiguity sits under private nonguaranteed debt (93 of 120) and PPG owed to private creditors (100 of 120), where a blank may mean none exists and may mean none was reported. Where the gap is unambiguously a missing input, it is named: the 12 countries with no export figure are listed above.
The last column reads series ended where the indicator has no 2024 value from anyone, which is a series the World Bank stopped publishing, not a series nobody reports. One indicator is in that state: Debt forgiveness grants (current US$), last value in 2023.
| Indicator | Code | Series ends | Reporting in 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debt forgiveness grants (current US$) | DT.DOD.MDRI.CD | 2023 | series ended |
| PPG, IBRD (DOD, current US$) | DT.DOD.MIBR.CD | 2024 | 64 / 120 |
| Total reserves (% of total external debt) | FI.RES.TOTL.DT.ZS | 2024 | 83 / 120 |
| External debt stocks, private nonguaranteed (PNG) (DOD, current US$) | DT.DOD.DPNG.CD | 2024 | 93 / 120 |
| PPG, IDA (DOD, current US$) | DT.DOD.MIDA.CD | 2024 | 98 / 120 |
| PPG, private creditors (DOD, current US$) | DT.DOD.PRVT.CD | 2024 | 100 / 120 |
| External debt stocks (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) | DT.DOD.DECT.EX.ZS | 2024 | 108 / 120 |
| Total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) | DT.TDS.DECT.EX.ZS | 2024 | 108 / 120 |
| External debt stocks (% of GNI) | DT.DOD.DECT.GN.ZS | 2024 | 112 / 120 |
| Principal repayments on external debt, long-term + IMF (AMT, current US$) | DT.AMT.DLTF.CD | 2024 | 120 / 120 |
| Concessional debt (% of total external debt) | DT.DOD.ALLC.ZS | 2024 | 120 / 120 |
| External debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$) | DT.DOD.DECT.CD | 2024 | 120 / 120 |
| Total external debt per capita (current US$) | DT.DOD.DECT.PC.CD | 2024 | 120 / 120 |
| External debt stocks, long-term (DOD, current US$) | DT.DOD.DLXF.CD | 2024 | 120 / 120 |
| External debt stocks, public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) (DOD, current US$) | DT.DOD.DPPG.CD | 2024 | 120 / 120 |
| External debt stocks, short-term (DOD, current US$) | DT.DOD.DSTC.CD | 2024 | 120 / 120 |
| Short-term debt (% of total external debt) | DT.DOD.DSTC.ZS | 2024 | 120 / 120 |
| Multilateral debt (% of total external debt) | DT.DOD.MLAT.ZS | 2024 | 120 / 120 |
| Present value of external debt (current US$) | DT.DOD.PVLX.CD | 2024 | 120 / 120 |
| Interest payments on external debt, total (INT, current US$) | DT.INT.DECT.CD | 2024 | 120 / 120 |
| Net flows on external debt, total (NFL, current US$) | DT.NFL.DECT.CD | 2024 | 120 / 120 |
| Net transfers on external debt, total (NTR, current US$) | DT.NTR.DECT.CD | 2024 | 120 / 120 |
| Debt service on external debt, total (TDS, current US$) | DT.TDS.DECT.CD | 2032 | 120 / 120 |
| Debt service on external debt, public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) (TDS, current US$) | DT.TDS.DPPG.CD | 2032 | 120 / 120 |
Source: World Bank International Debt Statistics, Debtor Reporting System (reported by the borrowing government). Selection: count of countries with a non-null value for each of the 24 indicators in ids_indicators, in 2024, out of the 120 reporting economies. "Series ends" is the last year the indicator carries any value for any country. The two debt-service indicators end after 2024 because they carry the contracted repayment schedule, not because they are more current. Methodology
All 120 reporting economies, 2024
Ranked by total external debt stock. Every country in this table has a page.
| # | Country | Income group | External debt | % of GNI | Service, % exports | PPG private-creditor share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ChinaCHN | Upper middle income | $2.42T | 13% | 8.6% | 91.3% |
| 2 | IndiaIND | Lower middle income | $716.46B | 19% | 10.5% | 54.1% |
| 3 | BrazilBRA | Upper middle income | $605.46B | 29% | 26.7% | 77.4% |
| 4 | MexicoMEX | Upper middle income | $591.25B | 33% | 9.5% | 89.2% |
| 5 | TurkiyeTUR | Upper middle income | $514.99B | 39% | 23.4% | 78.5% |
| 6 | IndonesiaIDN | Upper middle income | $421.06B | 31% | 24.7% | 77.1% |
| 7 | ArgentinaARG | Upper middle income | $242.36B | 39% | 38.3% | 62.4% |
| 8 | ColombiaCOL | Upper middle income | $201.76B | 49% | 43.0% | 64.9% |
| 9 | UkraineUKR | Upper middle income | $193.49B | 101% | 15.8% | 22.8% |
| 10 | ThailandTHA | Upper middle income | $191.83B | 37% | 4.7% | 90.0% |
| 11 | South AfricaZAF | Upper middle income | $175.90B | 45% | 16.3% | 85.9% |
| 12 | KazakhstanKAZ | Upper middle income | $167.53B | 63% | 48.4% | 68.9% |
| 13 | Egypt, Arab Rep.EGY | Lower middle income | $155.97B | 42% | 49.2% | 43.6% |
| 14 | PhilippinesPHL | Lower middle income | $137.02B | 26% | 14.4% | 46.3% |
| 15 | Viet NamVNM | Lower middle income | $132.91B | 29% | 7.7% | 6.0% |
| 16 | PakistanPAK | Lower middle income | $129.72B | 36% | 39.5% | 9.0% |
| 17 | NigeriaNGA | Lower middle income | $108.76B | 60% | 21.9% | 40.4% |
| 18 | BangladeshBGD | Lower middle income | $104.49B | 22% | 15.8% | 8.2% |
| 19 | PeruPER | Upper middle income | $93.27B | 34% | 17.1% | 72.4% |
| 20 | UzbekistanUZB | Lower middle income | $70.26B | 61% | 36.0% | 28.7% |
| 21 | MozambiqueMOZ | Low income | $69.77B | 351% | 46.5% | 11.2% |
| 22 | MoroccoMAR | Lower middle income | $67.99B | 45% | 12.9% | 37.1% |
| 23 | LebanonLBN | Lower middle income | $67.39B | n/a | 21.0% | 93.0% |
| 24 | EcuadorECU | Upper middle income | $60.36B | 50% | 21.9% | 40.5% |
| 25 | AngolaAGO | Lower middle income | $58.73B | 80% | 28.9% | 77.6% |
| 26 | Sri LankaLKA | Lower middle income | $56.83B | 59% | 23.7% | 29.5% |
| 27 | Dominican RepublicDOM | Upper middle income | $53.29B | 45% | 22.0% | 77.1% |
| 28 | SerbiaSRB | Upper middle income | $51.98B | 62% | 21.0% | 50.7% |
| 29 | SenegalSEN | Lower middle income | $47.15B | 151% | 41.8% | 42.1% |
| 30 | JordanJOR | Lower middle income | $46.97B | 90% | 18.2% | 45.4% |
| 31 | KenyaKEN | Lower middle income | $42.89B | 35% | 27.2% | 21.1% |
| 32 | Cote d'IvoireCIV | Lower middle income | $40.56B | 49% | 24.7% | 55.0% |
| 33 | TunisiaTUN | Lower middle income | $40.46B | 78% | 26.2% | 12.8% |
| 34 | MongoliaMNG | Upper middle income | $38.02B | 182% | 32.0% | 27.7% |
| 35 | GhanaGHA | Lower middle income | $37.41B | 47% | 9.4% | 52.5% |
| 36 | EthiopiaETH | n/a | $36.55B | n/a | 11.5% | 16.8% |
| 37 | TanzaniaTZA | Lower middle income | $36.34B | 47% | 12.1% | 17.6% |
| 38 | BelarusBLR | Upper middle income | $34.22B | 46% | 10.5% | 16.4% |
| 39 | ParaguayPRY | Upper middle income | $29.96B | 70% | 11.1% | 47.9% |
| 40 | ZambiaZMB | Lower middle income | $28.12B | 114% | 30.5% | 39.6% |
| 41 | GuatemalaGTM | Upper middle income | $27.06B | 24% | 9.6% | 66.8% |
| 42 | GeorgiaGEO | Upper middle income | $25.16B | 80% | 26.6% | 25.1% |
| 43 | El SalvadorSLV | Upper middle income | $24.96B | 75% | 96.2% | 51.3% |
| 44 | SudanSDN | Low income | $22.02B | 45% | n/a | 31.9% |
| 45 | CambodiaKHM | Lower middle income | $20.98B | 46% | 10.5% | n/a |
| 46 | UgandaUGA | Low income | $20.53B | 39% | 13.9% | 12.7% |
| 47 | MauritiusMUS | Upper middle income | $20.36B | 123% | 8.5% | 31.4% |
| 48 | Lao PDRLAO | Lower middle income | $17.84B | 115% | 19.0% | 12.3% |
| 49 | IraqIRQ | Upper middle income | $17.52B | 6% | 3.0% | 15.5% |
| 50 | ArmeniaARM | Upper middle income | $16.40B | 66% | 9.2% | 25.4% |
| 51 | CameroonCMR | Lower middle income | $15.77B | 31% | n/a | 14.4% |
| 52 | BoliviaBOL | Lower middle income | $15.72B | 33% | 17.8% | 14.3% |
| 53 | NicaraguaNIC | Lower middle income | $15.49B | 83% | 21.4% | 0.2% |
| 54 | JamaicaJAM | Upper middle income | $14.84B | 76% | 31.9% | 60.2% |
| 55 | ZimbabweZWE | Lower middle income | $14.40B | 33% | n/a | 8.8% |
| 56 | HondurasHND | Lower middle income | $14.30B | 42% | 18.1% | 23.0% |
| 57 | BeninBEN | Lower middle income | $14.16B | 67% | 26.8% | 43.3% |
| 58 | Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIH | Upper middle income | $13.89B | 49% | 10.8% | 13.0% |
| 59 | RwandaRWA | Low income | $13.05B | 94% | 8.0% | 20.2% |
| 60 | Papua New GuineaPNG | Lower middle income | $12.85B | 42% | 43.3% | 7.7% |
| 61 | North MacedoniaMKD | Upper middle income | $12.84B | 81% | 14.4% | 45.7% |
| 62 | Congo, Dem. Rep.COD | Low income | $12.48B | 18% | 1.3% | 0.9% |
| 63 | AzerbaijanAZE | Upper middle income | $12.20B | 17% | 11.4% | 40.6% |
| 64 | Kyrgyz RepublicKGZ | Lower middle income | $11.69B | 69% | 14.0% | n/a |
| 65 | MyanmarMMR | Lower middle income | $11.17B | 15% | 7.4% | 14.4% |
| 66 | Burkina FasoBFA | Low income | $10.85B | 49% | 13.6% | 1.9% |
| 67 | AlbaniaALB | Upper middle income | $10.71B | 40% | 8.0% | 35.2% |
| 68 | MoldovaMDA | Upper middle income | $10.49B | 57% | 16.6% | 1.1% |
| 69 | NepalNPL | Lower middle income | $10.15B | 23% | 12.4% | 0.0% |
| 70 | Iran, Islamic Rep.IRN | Upper middle income | $9.65B | 2% | 0.3% | 38.6% |
| 71 | MontenegroMNE | Upper middle income | $8.74B | 109% | 29.8% | 65.2% |
| 72 | Yemen, Rep.YEM | Low income | $7.09B | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 73 | TajikistanTJK | Lower middle income | $6.98B | 37% | 8.8% | 17.4% |
| 74 | AlgeriaDZA | Upper middle income | $6.90B | 3% | 0.8% | n/a |
| 75 | GabonGAB | Upper middle income | $6.82B | 36% | n/a | 44.6% |
| 76 | Congo, Rep.COG | Lower middle income | $6.73B | 45% | 13.6% | 32.2% |
| 77 | MadagascarMDG | Low income | $6.65B | 39% | 7.2% | 2.9% |
| 78 | MaliMLI | Low income | $6.44B | 25% | 6.2% | n/a |
| 79 | GuineaGIN | Lower middle income | $5.39B | 23% | 3.7% | 14.9% |
| 80 | NigerNER | Low income | $5.31B | 28% | 19.0% | 3.3% |
| 81 | Syrian Arab RepublicSYR | Low income | $4.76B | n/a | n/a | 0.5% |
| 82 | MaldivesMDV | Upper middle income | $4.69B | 76% | 9.2% | 30.5% |
| 83 | MauritaniaMRT | Lower middle income | $4.46B | 42% | 9.7% | n/a |
| 84 | KosovoXKX | Upper middle income | $4.40B | 39% | 7.2% | 4.8% |
| 85 | SurinameSUR | Upper middle income | $4.37B | 101% | 17.1% | 30.9% |
| 86 | TogoTGO | Low income | $4.29B | 43% | 13.8% | 20.3% |
| 87 | FijiFJI | Upper middle income | $3.87B | 71% | 9.5% | n/a |
| 88 | MalawiMWI | Low income | $3.74B | 35% | 10.6% | n/a |
| 89 | GuyanaGUY | High income | $3.68B | 23% | 2.9% | 2.3% |
| 90 | DjiboutiDJI | Lower middle income | $3.42B | 83% | 2.5% | n/a |
| 91 | BhutanBTN | Lower middle income | $3.40B | n/a | 16.6% | 0.1% |
| 92 | ChadTCD | Low income | $3.35B | 16% | n/a | 7.9% |
| 93 | AfghanistanAFG | Low income | $3.34B | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 94 | TurkmenistanTKM | Upper middle income | $3.32B | 5% | n/a | 13.7% |
| 95 | Cabo VerdeCPV | Upper middle income | $2.36B | 87% | 12.6% | 22.5% |
| 96 | Sierra LeoneSLE | Low income | $2.33B | 31% | 9.5% | 12.6% |
| 97 | BotswanaBWA | Upper middle income | $2.32B | 12% | 4.7% | n/a |
| 98 | LiberiaLBR | Low income | $2.23B | 50% | 9.1% | 1.9% |
| 99 | Somalia, Fed. Rep.SOM | Low income | $1.80B | 15% | 0.7% | n/a |
| 100 | LesothoLSO | Lower middle income | $1.77B | 65% | 6.9% | 0.2% |
| 101 | Gambia, TheGMB | Low income | $1.64B | 66% | 8.1% | 2.0% |
| 102 | BelizeBLZ | Upper middle income | $1.56B | 46% | 7.7% | 28.1% |
| 103 | Guinea-BissauGNB | Low income | $1.43B | 67% | 13.3% | 37.8% |
| 104 | EswatiniSWZ | Lower middle income | $1.24B | 28% | 7.7% | 3.4% |
| 105 | Equatorial GuineaGNQ | Upper middle income | $1.22B | 14% | n/a | n/a |
| 106 | St. LuciaLCA | Upper middle income | $1.19B | 51% | 4.7% | 32.0% |
| 107 | Central African RepublicCAF | Low income | $1.05B | 36% | 13.4% | 0.4% |
| 108 | BurundiBDI | Low income | $1.02B | 47% | n/a | n/a |
| 109 | HaitiHTI | Lower middle income | $944.7M | 4% | 63.2% | 13.5% |
| 110 | GrenadaGRD | Upper middle income | $863.3M | 69% | 4.9% | 15.4% |
| 111 | St. Vincent and the GrenadinesVCT | Upper middle income | $806.4M | 70% | 10.1% | 1.0% |
| 112 | EritreaERI | Low income | $667.3M | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| 113 | Solomon IslandsSLB | Lower middle income | $596.1M | 34% | 3.6% | n/a |
| 114 | DominicaDMA | Upper middle income | $569.5M | 82% | 29.4% | 9.4% |
| 115 | VanuatuVUT | Lower middle income | $519.9M | 39% | 6.5% | n/a |
| 116 | SamoaWSM | Upper middle income | $394.9M | 38% | 9.0% | n/a |
| 117 | ComorosCOM | Lower middle income | $385.6M | 25% | 17.3% | 0.0% |
| 118 | Sao Tome and PrincipeSTP | Lower middle income | $326.4M | 43% | 3.5% | 3.9% |
| 119 | Timor-LesteTLS | Lower middle income | $296.7M | 15% | 3.1% | n/a |
| 120 | TongaTON | Upper middle income | $173.2M | n/a | 22.8% | n/a |
Source: World Bank International Debt Statistics, Debtor Reporting System (reported by the borrowing government). Selection: DT.DOD.DECT.CD, DT.DOD.DECT.GN.ZS, DT.TDS.DECT.EX.ZS, and DT.DOD.PRVT.CD over DT.DOD.DPPG.CD, all in 2024; income group from the IDS country table. Methodology
What this data cannot tell you
- Not who China lent to. The IDS extract behind this page carries no creditor-country dimension and no China series. The shift from Paris Club bilateral lending toward Chinese bilateral lending cannot be shown or tested from these 24 indicators. What is visible is the aggregate: 30.7% of PPG owed to bilateral and other official creditors in 2000, 13.1% in 2024, with no breakdown of who is inside that leg or who left it.
- Not bondholders versus banks.IDS defines DT.DOD.PRVT.CD as bonds, commercial bank loans and other private credits together. The private leg above cannot be split into a bond share, so “the rise of the bondholder” is an interpretation this data supports only at the level of private creditors as a class.
- The bilateral leg is a residual, not a measurement. IDS publishes no bilateral series. It is computed as PPG minus private minus multilateral, so it absorbs any other official creditor and any private PPG debt a country failed to report. In 2024, 20 of 120 countries report no private-creditor value at all; they hold 1.32% of total PPG, and that much is the maximum error the residual can be carrying from this source.
- Multilateral as a share of PPG is an assumption. IDS reports multilateral debt only as a percent of total external debt. Expressing it against PPG assumes multilateral lending is entirely public or publicly guaranteed. The residual stays non-negative in all 5,705 country-years, which is consistent with that assumption but does not prove it.
- Not world external debt. The table is the 120 economies that report to the Debtor Reporting System, 0 of them G7 members, so the $8.94T above is the external debt of those 120 reporters and of nobody else. It cannot be compared with a world total.
- Borrower-reported, not market-observed. Every IDS series here is what the borrowing government told the World Bank it owed, with the one exception named above: the bilateral leg, which this page derives as a residual. Debt a government does not report, or reports late, is not here.
Methodology: the indicator dictionary, the derivation of the bilateral residual, the actual-versus-scheduled cut, and the coverage caveats behind these figures.