Massive Interest Burden Haunts $29 Trillion of Emerging Debt
- Lull in sovereign debt defaults may end as maturity wall looms
- Developing nations grapple with $850 billion of interest costs
Traffic along a main road in central Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Photographer: Michele Spatari/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Developing nations, already set for a turbulent 2025, are having to cope with ballooning interest payments on $29 trillion of debt that built up over the last decade.
A record 54 countries are spending more than 10% of their revenues on interest payments, according to the United Nations. Some, including Pakistan and Nigeria, are using more than 30% of revenue just to pay coupons.