Overview
- The Schuldenreport 2026, released Tuesday by Erlassjahr.de and Misereor, finds worldwide public debt above $100 trillion and says countries in the Global South send about 13% of state revenue to foreign creditors.
- Forty‑four countries face very high burdens of at least 15% of revenue, with Angola at 60% and Senegal at 39%, while Lebanon’s ratio reaches about 64%, leaving far less money for schools, clinics and infrastructure.
- About 60% of claims on Southern governments are held by private lenders such as investment funds and banks, which the report notes charge the highest interest rates and add to refinancing risks.
- The authors warn that the war in the Gulf, higher energy and food prices, and climate shocks are driving up costs and can trigger capital flight, which makes it harder to keep hospitals open and to pay teachers.
- A recent Haiti–Venezuela debt deal cut Haiti’s obligations by more than 70% and lowered external payments from roughly 10% to about 3% of revenue, yet the report says creditor states, including Germany and the EU, have blocked a UN debt framework and many IMF‑led restructurings left countries like Ghana, Zambia, Sri Lanka and Suriname with heavy loads.