‘More than 50 poor countries in danger of bankruptcy’ says UN official

Developing countries falling into default would be catastrophic and delay climate action, UN development chief warns

More than 50 of the poorest developing countries are in danger of defaulting on their debt and becoming effectively bankrupt unless the rich world offers urgent assistance, the head of the UN Development Programme has warned.

Inflation, the energy crisis and rising interest rates are creating conditions where an increasing number of countries are in danger of default, with potentially disastrous impacts on their people, according to Achim Steiner, the UN's global development chief.