Sri Lanka, Pakistan in neck deep in debt to China

Pakistan has $77.3 billion of external debt to China while the Maldives' is 31 per cent of its Gross National Income (GNI).

The Maldives’ total debt amounts to MVR 86 billion by the end of 2020, The Island quoted a report by the Forbes as saying.

Forbes, collecting data from The World Bank report as of 2020, says that 97 countries across the globe are under Chinese debt. Countries heavily in debt to China are mostly in Africa but can also be found in Central Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

The world’s low-income countries owe 37 per cent of their debt to China in 2022, compared to just 24 per cent in bilateral debt to the rest of the world.

The Chinese global project to finance the construction of the port, rail and land infrastructure across the globe, has been a major source of debt to China for participating countries.

Those with the highest external debt to China are Pakistan $77.3 billion, Angola at $36.3 billion, Ethiopia $7.9 billion, Kenya $7.4 billion and Sri Lanka $6.8 billion.

The projects in the Maldives funded with loans from China include the construction of the Sinamale Bridge and the airport development project.

Bangladesh too is a part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Dhaka owes 6 per cent of its total foreign debt to Beijing, which is around $4 billion.

(With UNI inputs)