Unraveling Global Debt: What 1.2 Million Transactions Tell Us About the World Bank

The World Bank was founded in 1944 with the mission of assisting countries devastated by World War II in rebuilding their economies. In 1960, the World Bank established the International Development Association (IDA) to provide low-interest loans and grants to the world’s poorest nations. The IDA is a multifaceted institution supporting a wide range of development initiatives, including primary education, healthcare, clean water and sanitation, agricultural growth, business environment improvements, infrastructure projects, and institutional reforms. (World Bank)

Key Takeaways:

• The World Bank has disbursed an impressive $45.5 trillion since its founding in 1947.
• $16 trillion of that has been repaid.
• Currently, $29.4 trillion is owed to the World Bank.
• On average, $2.99 million in debt is canceled.
• India leads the list of debtors, owing $4.29 trillion, while St. Kitts and Nevis has the least debt at $136 million.

For my analysis, I used SQL to extract insights from the World Bank’s 2024 data, last updated in October 2024, which includes over 1.34 million rows. I used the platform CSVfiddle.io to perform the analysis. While CSVfiddle is useful for basic queries, it has limitations when working with larger datasets, so I had to use the LIMIT function to manage the data size effectively.

My first step was to familiarize myself with the data: How many rows were available for analysis?

This resulted in 1,347,107 total rows.

I was then curious to understand the extent of the debt owed to the World Bank. With over 1.34 million rows of data, I wanted to explore how much money countries across the globe currently owe.

I was surprised to learn that the World Bank has disbursed a staggering $45.5 trillion, yet only $16 trillion has been repaid. This left me wondering how much is still outstanding. I decided to dig deeper into the data to uncover the total amount left to be repaid.

Currently, there is $29.4 trillion owed to the World Bank. I was curious to see how much of this debt is typically canceled by the World Bank, as they often provide debt relief to certain countries.

On average, each country has approximately $2.99 million of debt canceled.

This got me wondering: which countries hold the most debt with the World Bank? I was curious to see which nations are at the top of the list and how their debt compares to smaller economies.

India, has nearly double the debt of the next highest country, with a staggering $4.29 trillion. On the other hand, the country with the least amount of debt is St. Kitts and Nevis, owing just $136 million.

The Main Takeaways:

• The sheer scale of debt managed by the World Bank highlights a significant global financial system.
• India’s position reflects its vast economic activities but also poses challenges for repayment.
• The average debt cancellation suggests that while countries may struggle with repayments, there is a system in place to help them.
• The contrast between countries like India and St. Kitts and Nevis underscores the diverse economic landscapes and challenges faced by nations worldwide.

If you found this journey into the world of global debt insightful, I invite you to connect with me on LinkedIn Dianna Green M.Ed . Whether you’re looking to hire a data analyst or simply want to discuss these findings, I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below with your thoughts or questions!