External debt and related flows

The measurement of debt includes the size of debt and its corresponding servicing requirements, e.g.:

• the amount of debt relative to GDP
• the ratio of debt-servicing payments to exports
• the interest rate
• the terms of the stock of debt
• grace period
• maturity (less one year: short-term, more than one year: long-term)
• creditor (public, private)

Definition

"Gross external debt, at any given time, is the outstanding amount of those current, and not contingent liabilities owed to non-residents by residents of an economy that require payment(s) either of principal and/or interest by the debtor at some point(s) in the future." OECD, Paris

Examples

Sources

Data on debt-related flows are drawn e.g. by the World Bank's Debtor Reporting System.

Relevant databases:

• World Bank's "International Debt Statistics"
• OECD/ World Bank's "Joined External Debt Statistics"

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