Launch of the UN report, “A World of Debt”

The Secretary-General, António Guterres, launched yesterday the report by the UN Global Crisis Response Group, entitled “A world of debt. A growing burden to global prosperity”. According to the report, global public debt reached a record $92 trillion in 2022. The burden of debt drags down development, forcing countries to make the impossible choice of servicing their debt or serving their people

Mr. Guterres underlined that “on average, African countries pay four times more for borrowing than the United States and eight times more than the wealthiest European economies. A total of 52 countries – almost 40 percent of the developing world – are in serious debt trouble.” The Secretary-General pointed to the inequality built into the international financial system for causing the public debt crisis in developing countries and backed calls for urgent action to tackle the global debt crisis including “effective debt workout mechanism that support payment suspensions, longer lending terms and lower rates”.

At the launch of the report, the Secretary-General was Joined by the Head of UNCTAD, Ms. Rebeca Grynspan, and the Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific and Coordinator of the Regional Commissions, Ms. Armida Alisjahbana. Following the Secretary-General’s remarks, Ms. Grynspan presented the key findings and policy recommendations of the report. Ms. Alisjahbana shared regional perspectives on the debt situation and challenges and stressed that higher interest payments mean that less resources are available for people. Ms. Alisjahbana backed the SG’s call for scaling-up of affordable long-term financing for developing countries worldwide.

The report was jointly prepared by the UN Global Crisis Response Group, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the five United Nations Regional Commissions: ECA, ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP and ESCWA.

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