Developing countries spent a record $443.5 billion to service their external public and publicly guaranteed debt in 2022. These costs shifted scarce resources away from health, education, environment and other critical areas, the World Bank’s latest International Debt Report showed. Debt-service payments, which include principal and interest, increased by 5 per cent over the previous year for all developing countries. The 75 countries eligible to borrow from the World Bank’s International Development Association, which supports the poorest countries, paid a record $88.9 billion in debt-servicing costs in 2022. This record debt level and interest rates have set many countries on a path to crisis.