Lower middle income: Debt service on external debt, total (TDS, current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Lower middle income's debt service on external debt, total (TDS, current US$) rose 17.8% on 2023 (from US$266.11 billion to US$313.35 billion).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +8.4% and a typical year strayed about 16.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 65.1% in 2014 and the biggest yearly fall was 24.3% in 2015. 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 the straight-line trend is upward, about US$16.16 billion a year. A straight line explains 88% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about US$317.48 billion for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was US$29.37 billion, against US$69.62 billion for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

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. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

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

All 55 values

Debt service on external debt, total (TDS, current US$) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — US$67.6 million (2024)
• Algeria — US$444.97 million (2024)
• Djibouti — US$139.58 million (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — US$32.91 billion (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — US$362.02 million (2024)
• Iraq — US$3.42 billion (2024)
• Jordan — US$4.51 billion (2024)
• Lebanon — US$2.49 billion (2024)
• Morocco — US$8.9 billion (2024)

More economic policy & debt data for Lower middle income

• General government final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$877.94 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$770.63 billion (2025)
• General government final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 12.01% (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (current US$) — US$5.35 trillion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (constant 2015 US$) — US$5.26 trillion (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$1,785 (2025)
• Households and NPISHs final consumption expenditure (% of GDP) — 73.21% (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Lower middle income's debt service on external debt, total (TDS, current US$)?

US$313.35 billion in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 10,507% from US$2.95 billion in 1970 (9.02% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$313.35 billion in 2024 and the lowest US$2.24 billion in 1971.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator DT.TDS.DECT.CD, 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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.