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This annual report provides detailed information on the amount and composition of the external debt of each of 171 countries and territories (in effect, world-wide coverage of non-OECD countries) at the end of 1996, with corresponding revised figures for 1995. In addition, estimates are provided of the amortisation payments due by each country on long-term debt in 1997.

These data are reported to OECD by Member countries' governments and credit institutions, and the main international organisations. Common reporting rules together with timely reporting allow for comprehensive, consistent and up-to-date account of external debt, making this publication invaluable for international comparisons and country risk analysis.

In this 1996 report, the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) set a number of measurable international development goals. Subsequently, the commitment to halve world poverty became the focus of most donor organisations through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Long central to UN programmes, this focus on poverty reduction became key to IMF and World Bank lending to low‑income countries.

Is public support for international development failing? The question was examined in a number of contexts during a meeting of experts brought together in a joint enterprise by the OECD Development Assistance Committee and the OECD Development Centre. Views ranged widely but the overall consensus was that governments can and must do more to encourage public awareness of assistance activities and international co-operation for development, in order to encourage public support for these initiatives.