Unesco report shows children lost out to servicing debt in 113 countries, with 18 spending five times more on loans
education than they did repaying debt last year, according to the UN, at the same time as global aid to education is predicted to decline by up to 30%.
More was spent on servicing foreign debt than on education in 113 developing countries in 2025, according to research by the UN’s culture and education agency, Unesco. In sub-Saharan Africa, countries spent 3.6 times more on debt than education.
The situation is likely to be exacerbated by funding cuts, the agency warned. Low- and lower-middle-income countries have already lost 21% of the aid to education they were receiving in 2023 and could lose up to 30% by 2027. Some countries – including Afghanistan, Mali, Niger and Liberia – have already lost more than 40% in three years.
But people on Lemmy told me Belt and Road wasn’t an imperial debt trap!
That’s the chinese business model. Not that the west can’t do the same.
The World Bank would like a word:
Niger (as of end-2024)
Rank Creditor % of External Debt 1 World Bank (IDA) 46.8% 2 Other Multilateral Creditors (incl. BOAD, IsDB, IFAD) 16.4% 3 Bilateral Creditors (incl. France, China, India) 11.4% 4 IMF 9.6% 5 African Development Bank (AfDB) 8.9% 6 Commercial Creditors (incl. Deutsche Bank) 3.4% Sources:
- World Bank/IMF Joint Debt Sustainability Analysis for Niger (March 2026), Table 5: Decomposition of Public Debt and Debt Service by Creditor, 2024–27
- https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099041626143513038/pdf/BOSIB-46b1deab-a902-4b61-aad8-659f403af5de.pdf
Liberia (as of end-2024)
Rank Creditor % of External Debt 1 World Bank (IDA) 55.0% 2 ADB/AfDB/IADB 15.2% 3 IMF 11.2% 4 Other Multilateral Creditors (incl. EIB, Arab Bank for Economic Development) 7.4% 5 Bilateral Creditors (incl. Saudi Arabia, China, Kuwait) 6.4% 6 Commercial Creditors (incl. African Export-Import Bank) 4.8% Sources:
- World Bank/IMF Joint Debt Sustainability Analysis for Liberia (2025), Text Table 3: Decomposition of Public Debt and Debt Service by Creditor
- https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099102925150056306/pdf/BOSIB-3b895607-ac1f-427a-bdd4-f61438d2070a.pdf
Mali (as of end-2021)
Rank Creditor % of External Debt 1 World Bank (IDA) 38.0% 2 African Development Fund (AfDF) 14.5% 3 IMF 10.7% 4 China 9.0% 5 Abu Dhabi Development Fund 5.2% 6 Other Multilateral Creditors 4.6% 7 West African Development Bank (BOAD) 4.6% 8 Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) 4.0% 9 France (AFD) 3.3% 10 India 1.9% 11 Kuwait Fund 1.1% 12 Korea 1.0% Sources:
- World Bank/IMF Joint Debt Sustainability Analysis for Mali (2021), Text Table 3: Decomposition of Public Debt and Debt Service by Creditor
- https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099072823130537514/pdf/BOSIB0ef4c4c4202d08d4a0016055e2f51c.pdf
Afghanistan (as of end-2019)
Rank Creditor % of External Debt 1 Asian Development Bank (China’s a smaller 6.4% shareholder, Western countries hold about 50%) 50.0% 2 World Bank (WB) 30.0% 3 Saudi Fund for Development 7.0% 4 Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development 2.0% 5 Other Multilateral Creditors (incl. IMF, IsDB) 9.0% 6 Other Bilateral Creditors 2.0% Sources:
- World Bank/IMF Joint Debt Sustainability Analysis for Afghanistan (November 2020), Pages 3–4
- https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/412161606925441043/pdf/Afghanistan-Joint-World-Bank-IMF-Debt-Sustainability-Analysis.pdf
The west literally does the same but on a personal scale to its own people.
Its expensive to be poor.
By design.
The west does this to Africa too, China is merely playing catchup to this awful scheme.
The credit system basically IS the Social Credit System
I don’t think many countries besides the US have a credit system, at least not nearly the same.
In the Netherlands for example, there is a credit system, but the only thing that’s tracked there is if you pay on time, and all someone can request from this registration is if you’re in good standing or not. This also pretty much only applies to loans and mortgages and stuff, credit cards also aren’t really a big thing here.
Warmongering loan sharks gonna warmonger loan shark.
