The World Bank on Tuesday said that developing countries spent a record $1.4 trillion to service their foreign debts in 2023 as interest costs climbed to a 20-year high, squeezing budgets for necessities including health care, education and the environment.

The bank's latest International Debt Report showed that total foreign debt interest payments from developing countries surged to $406 billion, with the most difficult strains on the poorest countries.

These countries, eligible to borrow from the bank's International Development Association, paid a record $96.2 billion in 2023. Even though their principal repayments fell by nearly 8% to $61.6 billion, their interest costs surged to an all-time high of $34.6 billion in 2023 -- four times the amount of a decade ago.

(Reporting by David Lawder)