Massive interest burden haunts EM debt pile

Difficult times: Pakistani farmers boil sugarcane juice and then make balls by hand to make the traditional sweet called “Gurr”, on the outskirts of Peshawar. Some struggling countries like Pakistan, are using more than 30% of revenue just to pay coupons. — AP

NEW YORK: Developing nations, already set for a turbulent 2025, are having to cope with ballooning interest payments on US$29 trillion of debt that built up over the last decade.

A record 54 countries are spending more than 10% of their revenues on interest payments, according to the United Nations.