Middle income: Debt service to exports (%)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Middle income's debt service to exports (%) fell 0.03 percentage points on 2023 (from 5.19% to 5.16%).

Across the 29 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2023), the average change was −0.64 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.14 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 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 1.09 percentage points in 2015 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.51 percentage points in 2004. 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 0.09 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 47% 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.

What this measures

Debt service, the sum of principal repayments and interest actually paid in currency, goods, or services, is expressed as a percentage of exports of goods and services--all transactions between residents of a country and the rest of the world involving a change of ownership from residents to nonresidents of general merchandise, net exports of goods under merchanting, nonmonetary gold, and services. This series differs from the standard debt to exports series in that it covers only long-term public and publicly guaranteed debt and repayments (repurchases and charges) to the IMF.

All 32 values

Debt service to exports (%) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 2.24% (2020)
• Algeria — 0.47% (2024)
• Djibouti — 2.03% (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 45.97% (2024)
• Iraq — 2.92% (2024)
• Jordan — 9.97% (2024)
• Lebanon — 1.91% (2023)
• Morocco — 10.85% (2024)
• Pakistan — 32.78% (2024)
• Tunisia — 19.67% (2024)
• Yemen, Rep. — 14.51% (2016)

More economic policy & debt data for Middle income

• Charges for the use of intellectual property, payments (BoP, current US$) — US$117.46 billion (2025)
• Portfolio equity, net inflows (BoP, current US$) — US$9.23 billion (2025)
• Exports of goods and services (current US$) — US$10.34 trillion (2025)
• Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) — 25.31% (2025)
• Imports of goods and services (current US$) — US$9.88 trillion (2025)
• Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) — 24.2% (2025)
• External balance on goods and services (% of GDP) — 1.11% (2025)
• Trade (% of GDP) — 48.52% (2025)
• Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Middle income's debt service to exports (%)?

5.16% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1986?

It is down 23.53 percentage points from 28.7% in 1986. The highest value was 28.7% in 1986 and the lowest 2.84% in 2011.

Is the latest change in debt service to exports (%) unusual for Middle income?

In 2024, Middle income's debt service to exports (%) fell 0.03 percentage points on 2023 (from 5.19% to 5.16%). Across the 29 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2023), the average change was −0.64 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.14 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator DT.TDS.DPPF.XP.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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