Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income): Total debt service (% of GNI)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)'s total debt service (% of GNI) fell 1.78 percentage points on 2023 (from 7.12% to 5.34%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.1 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.03 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.61 percentage points in 1999 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.03 percentage points in 2022. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 10% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

What this measures

Total debt service is the sum of principal repayments and interest actually paid in currency, goods, or services on long-term debt, interest paid on short-term debt, and repayments (repurchases and charges) to the IMF.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 55 values

Total debt service (% of GNI) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 0.38% (2024)
• Algeria — 0.17% (2024)
• Djibouti — 3.27% (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 8.86% (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 0.08% (2024)
• Iraq — 1.22% (2024)
• Jordan — 7.85% (2024)
• Lebanon — 9.68% (2024)
• Morocco — 5.63% (2024)
• Pakistan — 4.5% (2024)
• Syrian Arab Republic — 0.05% (2022)

More economic policy & debt data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)

• General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$1.07 trillion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$900.01 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 16.39% (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$4.55 trillion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$3.81 trillion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$6,076 (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)'s total debt service (% of GNI)?

5.34% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 1.94 percentage points from 3.4% in 1970. The highest value was 8.36% in 1999 and the lowest 2.76% in 2010.

Is the latest change in total debt service (% of GNI) unusual for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?

In 2024, Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)'s total debt service (% of GNI) fell 1.78 percentage points on 2023 (from 7.12% to 5.34%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.1 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.03 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Where does this data come from?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator DT.TDS.DECT.GN.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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