
Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC)
The heavily indebted developing countries (also named "poor" countries) are a subgroup of the developing countries defined by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The aim of this classification in 1999 was debt relief proposed by the G8 countries, initiated by Germany.Of the current 36 countries, most are in Africa. A total of about 794.81 million people live in affected countries, which corresponds to 10.07 percent of the world's population.

Country | Population | GNI per capita | Human Development Index | Debts |
---|---|---|---|---|
Afghanistan | 40.1 M | 390 USD | 0.478 | 15.0% |
Benin | 13.0 M | 1,350 USD | 0.525 | 39.0% |
Bolivia | 12.1 M | 3,290 USD | 0.692 | 40.6% |
Burkina Faso | 22.1 M | 830 USD | 0.449 | 55.0% |
Burundi | 12.6 M | 220 USD | 0.426 | 33.2% |
Cameroon | 27.2 M | 1,590 USD | 0.576 | 36.1% |
Central African Republic | 5.5 M | 480 USD | 0.404 | 41.5% |
Chad | 17.2 M | 640 USD | 0.394 | 34.6% |
Comoros | 0.8 M | 1,580 USD | 0.558 | 25.5% |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | 95.9 M | 550 USD | 0.479 | 19.8% |
Ethiopia | 120.3 M | 940 USD | 0.498 | 27.1% |
Gambia | 2.6 M | 740 USD | 0.500 | 53.0% |
Ghana | 32.8 M | 2,280 USD | 0.632 | 47.8% |
Guinea | 13.5 M | 1,020 USD | 0.465 | 33.6% |
Guinea-Bissau | 2.1 M | 760 USD | 0.483 | 67.8% |
Guyana | 0.8 M | 9,410 USD | 0.714 | 26.6% |
Haiti | 11.4 M | 1,430 USD | 0.535 | 12.4% |
Honduras | 10.3 M | 2,490 USD | 0.621 | 45.3% |
Ivory Coast | 27.5 M | 2,420 USD | 0.550 | 44.0% |
Liberia | 5.2 M | 630 USD | 0.481 | 56.4% |
Madagascar | 28.9 M | 490 USD | 0.501 | 37.3% |
Malawi | 19.9 M | 620 USD | 0.512 | 25.7% |
Mali | 21.9 M | 820 USD | 0.428 | 34.8% |
Mauritania | 4.6 M | 1,950 USD | 0.556 | 59.2% |
Mozambique | 32.1 M | 480 USD | 0.446 | 398.6% |
Nicaragua | 6.9 M | 1,950 USD | 0.667 | 108.8% |
Niger | 25.3 M | 590 USD | 0.400 | 32.8% |
Republic of the Congo | 5.8 M | 1,970 USD | 0.571 | 70.5% |
Rwanda | 13.5 M | 840 USD | 0.534 | 82.9% |
Sao Tome and Principe | 0.2 M | 2,260 USD | 0.618 | 55.4% |
Senegal | 16.9 M | 1,570 USD | 0.511 | 107.0% |
Sierra Leone | 8.4 M | 500 USD | 0.477 | 60.5% |
Tanzania | 63.6 M | 1,100 USD | 0.549 | 42.2% |
Togo | 8.6 M | 960 USD | 0.539 | 41.1% |
Uganda | 45.9 M | 760 USD | 0.525 | 48.3% |
Zambia | 19.5 M | 1,030 USD | 0.565 | 124.7% |
Criteria for admission
Before being included in the debt relief initiative, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund lay down strict criteria. The aim is to cancel debts only for those states that are already heavily indebted and are in all likelihood unable to pay these liabilities on their own. On the other hand, these states should also have the ability to grow out of poverty after a waiver. A state must therefore not only be particularly poor, but must also fulfil certain conditions at the political level.These conditions are usually determined and monitored over several years in a three-stage process. Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan, for example, have been on the list for some time now of countries that fulfil the conditions of poverty. None of these three countries has so far been able to convincingly demonstrate or even show that the government is also capable of fighting poverty. To achieve this, it is also necessary to implement effective reforms in advance and to demonstrate success.
Doubts about sustainability
The aim of the initiative is to reduce poverty in the affected countries and to enable governments to stand on their own two feet through debt relief. The reform programs controlled by the community are designed to achieve effective action. An already economically weakened country may also use this debt relief to borrow money again from other states and not pay it back either.Another injustice is that individual countries are rewarded with debt relief even though they have not managed to stand on their own two feet, while the countries that are just above the poverty line because their reforms have been successful are not rewarded.
Key figures in comparison
(All figures weighted according to population share.)Heavily Indebted Poor Countries | World | USA | |
---|---|---|---|
Total population | 794.8 m | 7.9 bn | 331.9 m |
GNP per capita | 1,024 USD | 12,023 USD | 70,930 USD |
Government debt (% of GDP) | 58.7 % | 93.9 % | 115.3 % |
Expenditure on education (% of GDP) | 3.8 % | 4.3 % | 6.1 % |
Unemployment rate | 5.1 % | 6.2 % | 5.5 % |
Literacy rate | 65.5 % | 86.8 % | 0.0 % |
Electricity access | 45.8 % | 90.4 % | 100.0 % |
Birth rate | 35.4 ‰ | 17.2 ‰ | 10.9 ‰ |
Life expectancy | 62.7 years | 72.3 years | 77.3 years |