Worldwatch Report April 2001

Press Release

Excerpts from the book

In addition to the 41 countries designated as HIPC by the World Bank, David Roodman, Senior Researcher at Worldwatch, has identified six countries that meet the benchmark conditions of poverty and indebtedness defined by the World Bank. The result is the "Worldwatch 47." Three of the additional countries, Indonesia, Nigeria and Pakistan, are more indebted than any of the HIPCs. The HIPC Initiative excludes these three countries on the grounds that they have the capacity to repay their debt. But credit agencies such as Moody's and Standard and Poor's rate them less creditworthy than many countries in the original HIPC list.

Roodman estimated that at least two-thirds or approximately $291 billion of the $422 billion owed by the Worldwatch 47 countries in early 2001 was unpayable. Official recognition of the nonpayability of debt requires political courage, but canceling unpayable debt has no economic costs nor does it free up resources for human development needs.

Roodman's careful and extensive research cogently demonstrates that most third world debt must be recognized as nonpayable -- the sooner we engage in responsible accounting the sooner the crisis can be resolved.

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