Jamaica has debts totaling almost $18 billion, equivalent to an astounding 124% of GDP. The situation is so severe that annually Jamaica spends more than twice as much on foreign debt repayments as it does on health and education combined. Despite undergoing almost four decades of austerity in an attempt to tackle the issue, Jamaica does not qualify for any debt relief. It is deemed an ‘upper middle-income’ country, seemingly too rich to require such cancellation schemes.
Find out more…
Grenada is a textbook example of why the economies of small island-states are so vulnerable to external factors. In the early 2000s Grenada had one of the highest growth rates in the Caribbean before it suffered from the double blow of natural disasters and the global financial crisis. In an attempt to help regenerate growth and correct its fiscal imbalances, the government has since taken out IMF bailout loans. However, these loans are said to have actually further destabilised and stagnated the national economy. Grenada now has debts totaling almost $679 million after a recent restructuring agreement.
Find out more…
Lebanon’s debt to rich world countries and multilateral donors amounts to US$29.47 billion. This figure is equivalent to 127.9% of Lebanon’s Gross Domestic Product, one of the highest proportionate amounts in the world. With a small population relative to this giant debt burden the huge annual debt repayments of US$4.25 billion are equal to US$1027 per person. Only a small fraction of this amount, US$179, is spent per capita each year on healthcare. This burden is in addition to further debt owed to domestic banks. Poverty rates and inequality remain as persistent problems for the country but due to the country’s upper middle income status, Lebanon has not been considered eligible for debt relief.
Find out more…
Guyana is a country rich in ecology and natural resources. In spite of this, the country remains poor and 35% of the population live in poverty. From the 1970s international bodies including the IMF and World Bank offered loans to Guyana and the debt stock rose significantly. By 1999, the debt was equivalent to 189% of the countries GDP, proving to be an unsustainable burden. Seeking relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC), Guyana had some debts cancelled in 1999 and 2003, in addition to further relief of approximately US$65 million under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative in 2005.
Find out more…
Colombia has a debt burden equivalent to over 40% of its GDP, and US$1700 per person. At nearly US$78 billion, this debt is considered sustainable because of the country’s growing economy, despite the uneven distribution of wealth. Colombia is one of the most unequal countries in the world and over one third of the population live below the poverty line. The country’s economy has been praised by international institutions and the IMF Chief stated that “The global economy is not as healthy as the Colombian economy”.
Find out more…
Sri Lanka is one of the most indebted countries in the global south and its debt stock doubled between 2000 and 2012 to US$22.66 billion. The debt was first created in the late 1970s and has grown rapidly. Now an estimated 25% of government revenue is spent on debt repayments and the IMF estimates that under financial stress, payments could reach 35% of national income in 2013. The government of Sri Lanka spends nearly the same amount on debt repayments as it does on healthcare, recently borrowing a further US$600 million just to cover the repayments and escalating interest. The deeply indebted country has not been considered for any debt relief as international institutions deem its debt to be ‘sustainable’.
Find out more…
Nepal has been heavily dependent on foreign assistance since its first budget in 1952. From the 1970’s, aid was given primarily in loans, resulting in a huge and growing debt stock. The debt stock in Nepal amounts to over US$3.77 billion with annual repayments of over US$186.9 million. Although the national economy is growing and Nepal’s debt sustainability is considered to have improved over recent years, this consideration is entirely based on economics as opposed to the position of Nepali people.
Nepal qualified for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative (HIPC) and began making the required changes until the government pulled out in 2009. This decision is largely attributed to an unwillingness to accept the conditionalities and terms attached to the cancellation which have been seen to have harmful impacts elsewhere in the world. Under the UK’s own Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative, 10% of Nepal’s debt to the World Bank is paid by the UK and although this is beneficial, the impacts are limited by the scale of the large debts which continue to weigh down the Nepali economy.
Find out more…
India currently owes US$287.5 billion to external lenders. In 2011 the UK contributed £292 million in Official Development Assistance to the Indian government whilst over 40 times this amount left the country in debt repayments. Despite the vast economic growth in the country over recent decades, the situation in India is unstable, with growth reducing to half the expected figure over recent years.
Other emerging economies such as China and Brazil are set to reduce their debt by 12% and 8.5% respectively over the next 5 years, this decrease is only expected to be 3% for India. The debt is considered to be sustainable due to the economic growth, however this prosperity is far from evenly distributed within the country, showing the limited understanding of both sustainability and a successful economy.
Find out more…
Uganda’s debt accumulated from the 1970s onwards. Despite large loans, the majority of Ugandans saw little benefits from the money and a few private pockets were the best serviced. As the first country to complete the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative in 2000, Uganda was seen as a flagship for economic growth and good governance. In reality, as the guinea pig of the programme Uganda’s gains were limited and their debt burden only decreased by a negligible amount. It was not until 2006, when the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative came into force that the benefits were felt with the debt burden falling from US$4.5 billion in 2005 to US$1.1 billion in 2007.
With International Financial Institutions (IFI) encouragement, as conditions of both the loans and debt cancellation, free market policies were implemented in Uganda. This included privatisation and trade liberalisation which gave the advantage to those with corporate interests and the beneficial impacts have not filtered down to wider population. These policies have not been beneficial for sustainable development or poverty reduction.
Find out more…
With an unpayable debt burden, Tanzania qualified for the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, having US$488 million of its total debt cancelled in 2001 and a further $4.4 billion in 2006 with the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative. This cancellation vastly reduced the countries debt burden from around 70% of GDP to 15%. However, since the cancellation, the debt burden has steadily increased, now reaching US$10.33 billion, over 40% of Tanzania’s GDP.
Find out more…