Debt Sustainability Framework for Low Income Countries

Source details

Session No.: OL 26.118
Location: Course conducted online
Date: May 1, 2026 - April 15, 2027 (50 weeks)
Delivery Method: Online Training
Primary Language: English
Presented jointly by the Institute for Capacity Development and the Strategy, Policy, and Review Department, in collaboration with the World Bank.
Qualifications: Some knowledge of economics is helpful. Basic Microsoft Excel skills and access to a computer with a reliable internet connection and a Google Chrome web browser are essential.

Government officials, with particular usefulness for officials from:
- Ministries of finance
- Debt agencies
- Central banks
- Other government agencies responsible for providing advice or implementing macroeconomic and debt policies

The course provides an overview of the World Bank-IMF Debt Sustainability Framework for Low Income Countries (LIC DSF).
Key procedural and analytical steps covered:
- Identification of data requirements for applying the LIC DSF template.
- Use of "realism tools" to assess the plausibility of macroeconomic projections.
- Computation of a country's debt-carrying capacity used to determine thresholds for debt-burden indicators.
- Application of baseline and stress test scenarios to evaluate whether debt-burden indicators breach thresholds; breaches signal risk of debt distress.
- Use of judgment to arrive at a final risk rating.
Purpose: To enable participants to understand and interpret LIC DSF outputs presented in World Bank and IMF reports.

Upon completion of the course, participants should be able to:

Identify data requirements for the use of the LIC DSF template.
Identify the steps in the production of risk ratings for low-income countries.
Understand the LIC DSF realism tools.
Interpret the LIC DSF stress test scenarios.
Identify how the LIC DSF computes thresholds for debt-burden indicators.
Understand the LIC DSF risk ratings.
Interpret the outputs of the debt sustainability analysis for low-income countries, as presented in World Bank and IMF reports.

IMF offers online training to government officials and the public through its training program.
The course is structured as a one-module online offering focused on practical application of the LIC DSF methodology.