Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative and Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative—Statistical Update

The HIPC Initiative and MDRI are nearly complete, with 36 countries having already reached the completion point under the HIPC Initiative. Chad, in April 2015, is the latest country to reach the completion point. Debt relief under the Initiative has alleviated debt burdens substantially in recipient countries and has enabled them to increase their poverty-reducing expenditure by over one and a half percentage points of GDP between 2001 and 2014. Creditor participation in the HIPC Initiative has been strong amongst the multilateral and Paris Club creditors; however participation from other creditor groups still needs to be strengthened. The total cost of debt relief to creditors under the HIPC Initiative is currently estimated to be US$74.8 billion, while the costs to the four multilateral creditors providing relief under the MDRI is estimated at US$41.6 billion in end-2014 present value terms.