Central bankers, finance ministers, and economic experts from around the globe converged in Washington, DC this week for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, which wrapped up on October 18, 2025. The mood at the gathering was anything but lighthearted, as the world’s financial stewards grappled with mounting economic headwinds, surging protectionism, and a growing list of countries seeking lifelines from the IMF. The numbers discussed were staggering, with at least 86 countries collectively owing the IMF more than $162 billion—a record high, according to figures presented at the conference and reported by multiple outlets, including Al Jazeera and Zee News.
The IMF, often dubbed the "lender of last resort," has been thrust into the spotlight as nations face severe financial crises, unable to borrow through regular channels. The organization’s role is to step in when all else fails, but its loans are known to come with strict conditions. These can include austerity measures—spending cuts, tax hikes, and subsidy reductions—that, while designed to stabilize economies, can often deepen social and economic hardships for ordinary citizens. As one delegate at the meetings put it, “IMF loans are a double-edged sword.”
Founded in 1944 at the historic Bretton Woods Conference in New Hampshire, the IMF was created to help stabilize the post-World War II global economy. Back then, it had just 44 founding members. Fast-forward to 2025, and the IMF’s membership has swelled to 191 nations, working closely with the United Nations and other international organizations to maintain global financial stability. The IMF’s toolkit includes policy advice, short-term financial assistance, and capacity building for countries and institutions in need.
Membership in the IMF comes with a price tag: each country pays a quota, determined by the size of its economy. This quota dictates not only how much a country contributes and can borrow, but also its voting power within the Fund. Wealthier nations, such as the United States, contribute more and thus wield greater influence. In turn, these creditor countries supply the funds that the IMF uses to make loans, earning interest on their contributions. In 2024 alone, about 50 creditor nations collectively received roughly $5 billion in interest, according to IMF data.
The IMF’s total lending capacity currently stands at an eye-popping $1 trillion. But how does the Fund keep track of all this debt? Rather than using a single national currency, the IMF employs its own unit of account: the Special Drawing Right (SDR). The value of an SDR is pegged to a basket of five major currencies—the US dollar, euro, pound sterling, Chinese renminbi, and Japanese yen. As of October 15, 2025, one SDR was equivalent to $1.36. Countries can exchange SDRs for any of the underlying currencies, making them a flexible tool for international finance.
The scale of the IMF’s current exposure is unprecedented. According to the latest figures, 86 countries owe the IMF SDR 118.9 billion, or about $162 billion. The concentration of this debt is remarkable: just three countries—Argentina, Ukraine, and Egypt—account for nearly half of the total owed. The top ten borrowers together make up a whopping 73 percent of the Fund’s outstanding credit.
Argentina stands out as the IMF’s largest debtor by a wide margin, with SDR 41.8 billion (approximately $57 billion) in outstanding credit. The country’s financial saga with the IMF is a long and tumultuous one. In April 2025, the IMF approved its 23rd program for Argentina, a $20 billion bailout designed to shore up the country’s battered economy. This comes on the heels of a $57 billion loan in 2018—the largest in IMF history—granted after Argentina was rocked by a currency crisis and double-digit inflation. The pattern is familiar: repeated borrowing from the IMF, followed by tough economic reforms and, often, social unrest.
In a move that raised eyebrows at the Washington meetings, the Trump administration in October 2025 announced a separate $20 billion financial support package for Argentina. The package, which includes a currency swap between the US and Argentina’s central bank, is meant to bolster the country’s foreign currency reserves ahead of its October 26 midterm elections. The US dollars provided in the swap are exchanged for Argentine pesos, giving the country a much-needed buffer as it faces ongoing fiscal challenges.
Ukraine is the second-largest borrower, owing SDR 10.4 billion (about $14 billion). The country’s financial woes have deepened dramatically since Russia’s invasion in February 2022. By April 2025, Ukraine’s total government-guaranteed debt had ballooned to $152 billion, with more than 70 percent—$108.4 billion—classified as external obligations, according to Reuters. In March 2023, the IMF approved a four-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) worth $15.5 billion as part of a broader international support package. The goal: to stabilize Ukraine’s war-ravaged economy, support civilian spending, and service mounting debts, all while the country pours resources into defending itself. As of October 2025, Ukraine had received $10.6 billion of the planned $15.5 billion under the EFF arrangement for 2023-2027.
Egypt, meanwhile, ranks third on the IMF’s list of top borrowers, with SDR 6.9 billion (about $9 billion) outstanding. The country’s repeated appeals to the IMF stem from persistent high debt, fiscal deficits, shortages of foreign currency reserves, and stubbornly high inflation. Egypt’s relationship with the IMF intensified after the 2011 uprising, which left the economy reeling. In 2016, the IMF approved Extended Fund Facility programs worth $11.9 billion to address issues such as an overvalued currency, slow growth, and unemployment. The reforms—ranging from a flexible exchange rate to tax hikes and subsidy cuts—were tough medicine. In March 2025, the IMF approved another $1.2 billion disbursement after the fourth review of Egypt’s $8 billion economic reform program. Thanks in part to these reforms, Egypt reported that inflation had nearly halved by February 2025.
Beyond the headline-grabbing sums owed by Argentina, Ukraine, and Egypt, the IMF’s reach extends to dozens of other nations. But the burden of IMF debt is not distributed evenly. When measured as a share of gross domestic product (GDP), smaller economies often feel the pinch most acutely. Suriname, for example, has IMF debt equal to 13 percent of its GDP—the highest ratio worldwide. The Central African Republic (9.4 percent), Argentina (8.3 percent), Barbados (7.4 percent), and The Gambia (6.95 percent) round out the top five in this metric. For these countries, even relatively modest IMF loans can have outsized effects on their economies.
The IMF’s annual meetings serve as a reminder of the delicate balance between providing emergency financial support and ensuring that the conditions attached to such support do not exacerbate social and economic turmoil. As the world’s economic landscape grows increasingly complex, the IMF’s role as a backstop remains both vital and controversial. For the millions of people living in countries on the IMF’s debtor list, the decisions made in Washington this week will have far-reaching consequences—shaping not just national budgets, but daily lives and futures for years to come.
