Tackling debt in poorest countries hit by ‘massive gaps in data’

World Bank says 40% of low-income countries failed to publish any figures in past two years

Efforts to combat a looming debt crisis in the world's poorest countries are being hindered by a lack of up-to-date, reliable figures showing how much individual nations owe, the World Bank has said.

The Washington-based institution highlighted massive gaps" in the data, with 40% of low-income countries failing to publish any figures on their sovereign debt in the past two years.