How big is the Debt?

Debt owed by all developing countries $2,553 billion
Debt owed by the 41 heavily indebted poor countries $ 213 billion

How much is a Trillion?

When discussing country debt, the numbers involved can seem almost impossible to imagine, so, it might be useful if we take a look at these numbers.

1 million = 1,000,000

1 billion = 1,000,000,000 = 1 thousand million

1 trillion = 1,000,000,000,000 = 1 million million

However, total figures for debt are not always the most useful way of defining the problem. These figures do not tell us the cost of repaying the debt, in particular the human or environmental costs.

THE REAL PICTURE

Honduras:

50% of population below national poverty line
38% without access to health services
22 doctors per 100,000 (Ireland 167 per 100,000)
(UNDP 2000)

1980 debt $2.7 bn
1980-1998 repaid $5.3 bn
1998 debt $5.0 bn

"The destruction caused by Hurricane Mitch in October 1998 exposed the cripling nature of the debt burden faced by both Nicaragua and Honduras" (Jubilee 2000, September 2000)

In the aftermath of the disaster, bilateral donors agreed to defer repayments until December 2001. However, the same cannot be said for the IMF and World Bank who continued to demand payment. $175 million of Western aid money was used to service mulitlateral debt rather than assist those whose lives had been devestated by Hurricane Mitch.

Zambia

1985 debt $4.5 bn
1985-1998 repaid $6.2 bn
1998 debt $6.8 bn

72.6% of the population live on less than $1 per day
86 % of the population live below the national poverty line (UNDP 2000)
62% have no access to safe water.
Life expectancy is 40.5 years with 46.2% not expected to live to age 40

Debt repayments have taken 1/3 of government revenue, more than the combined government expenditure on health and education.

The Philippines

1985 debt $26 bn
1985-1998 repaid $57 bn
1998 debt $47.8bn

Much of this debt was amassed during the regime of President Ferdinand Marcos. $2.3 bn was used to finance the construction of the Bataan nuclear power station which was completed in the mid 1980s. Debt service payments on the power station are $170,000 per day and the debt will not be repaid until 2018. However, Filipinos have never benefitted from this debt. The Bataan power station was never used as it was built on an earthquake fault at the foot of a volcano.

Resources:

Debt Cutters Handbook. Jubilee 2000

Enlace. Jubilee 2000.

Global Development Finance. Country Tables 2000. World Bank, Washington.

Human Development Report 2000. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), New York.

World Development Report 2000. World Bank, Washington.

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