Washington D.C., USA – June 20, 2025 – The World Bank on Thursday expressed significant concern over the declining transparency of public debt in some countries and the increasing use of complex borrowing tools, which are making it progressively harder to accurately measure how much nations owe. To address this escalating issue, the Bank called for a “fundamental change” in how both debtor and creditor countries report and disclose debt.
These concerns are particularly acute for low-income countries, which are increasingly resorting to borrowing arrangements that the World Bank deems opaque. Such arrangements include private placements (a form of funding conducted privately rather than publicly), central bank swaps, and collateralized transactions, as detailed in a new World Bank report on debt transparency titled “Radical Debt Transparency.”
While the proportion of low-income countries publishing some debt data has improved, growing from below 60 percent to more than 75 percent since 2020, the report highlights a significant transparency gap: only 25 percent disclose loan-level information on new debt. Additionally, countries are now increasingly turning to local investors for debt but are not publishing figures on these domestic loans.
“Recent cases of unreported debt have highlighted the vicious cycle that a lack of transparency can set off,” stated Axel van Trotsenburg, the World Bank’s Senior Managing Director. “When hidden debt surfaces, financing dries up and terms worsen. Countries turn to opaque, collateralized deals. Radical debt transparency, which makes timely and reliable information accessible, is fundamental to break the cycle.”
The report cited the example of Senegal, where an independent administrative court, acting as an auditor, announced in February that the government debt in the African nation had surged to 99.67 percent of GDP—a rate one-quarter higher than what the previous government had disclosed. An IMF team that visited Senegal in March further reported that officials had made false statements regarding budget deficits and public debt for the period 2019-2023. The World Bank also noted that other countries have secretly negotiated to restructure their debt with certain creditors.
“Debt transparency is not just a technical issue—it’s a strategic public policy that builds trust, reduces borrowing costs, and attracts investment,” commented Pablo Saavedra, a World Bank Vice President.
The Bank urged countries to implement comprehensive reforms to enhance their transparency practices. These recommended reforms include:
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