Research published by Unesco in 2025 indicates that 113 developing countries spent more on servicing foreign debt than on education. In sub-Saharan Africa, countries allocated 3.6 times more funds to debt repayment than to education in the same year.

Eighteen of the nations most impacted by debt spent five times the amount on debt compared to education. Sri Lanka's spending on debt was up to 16 times greater than its education expenditure.

Min Jeong Kim, director of Unesco's education division, said, "Current approaches really keep the countries trapped in a cycle of austerity, underinvestment and stalled development." She added, "This is really weakening countries' stances on economic growth, eroding domestic revenue mobilisation and ultimately also diminishing their ability to handle their debt over time."

Data from Debt Justice shows that debt repayments by poorer countries reached a 35-year high in 2024. In the same year, 56 countries spent nearly a fifth of their total revenue on servicing loans.

Tim Jones, policy director at Debt Justice, said, "Countries' debt payments have ballooned following a series of shocks from Covid, energy price and interest rate rises and climate disasters." He said, "In the worst-affected [countries], this is leading to cuts in spending on essential services such as health and education." Jones noted that funding for education from the U.S. and Europe decreased by $600 million in 2024.

In 2023, low- and lower-middle-income countries experienced a 21% reduction in the education aid they received. Projections suggest these countries could lose up to 30% of education aid by 2027. Afghanistan, Mali, Niger, and Liberia have each lost more than 40% of their education aid over three years.

Jones said, "The UK needs to use its presidency of the G20 in 2027 to get major changes to the debt-relief process, including more debt cancellation and a faster process." He added, "Central to this is incorporating the process into English law, so that private creditors can no longer disrupt and hold out from the debt relief."