Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

News

The Graphic Truth: Developing countries' deadly debt trap

The Graphic Truth: Developing countries' deadly debt trap
Make us preferred on Google

The head of the IMF has already warned that the state of the global economy is "worse than our already pessimistic projections." But while the pandemic is taking a huge economic toll on every country in the world, many emerging-market economies, which currently owe a collective $8.4 trillion in foreign debt, face a particularly grim tradeoff between paying their bondholders or funding their hospitals. Even before the coronavirus crisis, 64 countries spent more money annually servicing their external debt payments than they did on healthcare. Now, the global health emergency is taxing their underfunded healthcare systems, complicating attempts to contain the virus. Many countries have already pleaded for emergency debt relief. Here's a look at the countries that spend more on annual debt servicing than on healthcare.

More For You

Supporters of the youth-led satirical political movement Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)

Supporters of the youth-led satirical political movement Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) celebrate the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in Mumbai, India, 26 July 2026

Deep Nair/ZUMA Press Wire
For weeks, tens of thousands of people in India – most of them young people – protested outside the Jantar Mantar, a historic observatory in New Delhi, to demand the resignation of the country’s education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan.Swaraj Sriwastav, a 28-year-old cinematographer from Mumbai, was among the crowd on July 20, laughing in unison and [...]
A U.S. military aircraft takes off from an unknown location

A U.S. military aircraft takes off from an unknown location during what U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) says are strikes on Iran, in this screengrab from a handout video released on July 29, 2026.

U.S. Central Command/Handout via REUTERS
Iran war draws in more countries as fighting escalatesAfter a few days of relative calm, the Iran war is escalating once again, and this time, more countries are in the mix. Egypt said two ships were hit with a drone in the port of Damietta on Wednesday, just 40 miles from the exit of the Suez Canal, the first attack in the country since the war [...]
South Africans’ risky side hustle
Will Fitzpatrick
For over half of South African workers, expanded access to sports betting and online gambling is increasingly being seen as a way to make ends meet. The trend is most pronounced among lower-income earners, particularly those making between 8,000 and 15,000 rand per month ($480 to $900). It reflects the growing financial strain facing many South [...]
Severe heatwaves trigger unrest in Libya
Farida Dowidar
Demonstrations have been sweeping cities in Libya over the past few days, with protesters blocking roads, government buildings, and even storming an energy complex over rolling blackouts. The demonstrations have snowballed, however, into demands for the removal of governments in both eastern and western Libya. Surging demand for air conditioning [...]