The Graphic Truth: Emerging market external debt woes
The coronavirus pandemic is taking a huge economic toll on every country in the world, but emerging-market economies are being hit particularly hard. Many of these states were already mired in economic crisis before the coronavirus outbreak, but now they face the triple hit of lockdowns at home, collapsing foreign demand for their exports, and the evaporation of outside investment. Emerging economies currently owe more than $8.4 trillion in foreign debt, about 30% of the developing world's total GDP, and many countries are appealing to international creditors, including the World Bank and IMF, to delay or even cancel their debt payments while they focus on the pandemic. Here's a look at some of the most highly-indebted emerging-market economies.