Debt Statistics - Methodology

Methodology

Debt statistics are compiled and disseminated using the concepts and definitions of the latest international standards. Below you can access methodology relating to our databases and additional manuals and guides, such as the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual and the BPM6 Compilation Guide.

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IDS
DSSI
QEDS
QPSD
Additional Manuals and Guides

IDS 2023: Data Sources and Methodology
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About DRS and IDS
The DRS Manual is available in the following languages (PDF):
English
Spanish
French
Russian
The DRS system captures detailed information at loan level for external borrowing of reporting countries using standardized set of forms. Click on the various forms below for a direct download to the Excel form:
Form 1: Description of Individual External Public Debt and Private Debt Publicly Guaranteed
Form 1a: Schedule of Drawings and Principal and Interest Payments for Individual External Public Debt and Private Debt Publicly Guaranteed
Form 2: Individual External Public Debts and Private Debts Publicly Guaranteed Current Status and Transactions during Period
Form 3: Revisions of Forms 1 and 2
Form 4: External Private Non-Guaranteed Debt
Additional guides:
DRS: What it Measures (PDF)
2013 External Debt Statistics: Guide for Compilers and Users (PDF)
The IDS database and the IDR publication are is published annually in the fall. Following this publication, data and metadata updates in the IDS database and the online tables will be reflected by the end of December and April in a database refresh.
For more information on the DRS, please visit the data tables, FAQ, or the Data Help Desk.
To support the Bank-IMF Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) and in the interests of greater debt transparency, the World Bank released data on the public and publicly guaranteed debt stocks and projected debt service due, for the DSSI eligible countries, disaggregated by creditor type.
Debt Service Payment Projections: What we Measure [archived]

For more information on DSSI, please visit our data tables or the FAQ.
In October 2014, the World Bank in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) , launched the new Quarterly External Debt Statistics (QEDS) SDDS and GDDS databases inline with the classifications and definitions of the 2013 External Debt Statistics: Guide for Compilers and Users (2013 EDS Guide) and Sixth Edition of Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (BPM6). The QEDS databases provides external debt data, starting from 1998Q1 (for SDDS) and 2002Q4 (for GDDS). The participation of countries in the QEDS databases is voluntary.

Read more about QEDS:
SDDS methodology
GDDS methodology
Additional resources:
2013 External Debt Statistics: Guide for Compilers and Users
Subscribing countries: SDDS | GDDS
Reporting countries: SDDS | GDDS
QEDS reporting template: SDDS | GDDS
QEDS Submission and Publication Calendar

For more information on QEDS, please visit our data tables or the FAQ.
The Quarterly Public Sector Debt Statistics (QPSD) database, jointly developed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, brings together detailed quarterly public sector debt data of selected countries, initially mainly developing and emerging market economies. The main purpose of the PSD database is to facilitate timely dissemination in standard formats of public sector debt data. By bringing such data and metadata together in one central location, the database supports macroeconomic analysis and cross-country comparison.

Read more about QPSD:
QPSD methodology
Additional resources:
Public Sector Debt Statistics: Guide for Compilers and Users
Reporting countries

For more information on QPSD, please visit the data tables or the FAQ.
QPSD reporting template
QPSD publication calendar
Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual
BPM6 Compilation Guide
JEDH Metadata: Creditor/Market
JEDH Metadata: Comparator

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