Debt
Debt means owing money. Many of us have owed money, when we have borrowed it from our friends or parents. Our parents may have borrowed large amounts of money as a mortgage, to buy a house. Debt is not necessarily a bad thing - borrowing money enables us to do things that we would not otherwise be able to afford at the time. When people borrow money they arrange a programme for repaying the money over a particular amount of time, (plus interest that is added as a charge for borrowing the money.) Problems arise when the amount of debt undertaken is unpayable. People may have taken on too much of a commitment, and be unable to afford the repayments that are due, or situations may change such as the rate of interest rising, or their income falling. When individuals become deeply indebted, we draw a line under the debt. That line is called bankruptcy. Their debts are written off by law and they are allowed to start again, although it will be hard for them to borrow money again in the future.
Countries may take out loans to use for various purposes, such as large-scale projects or improvements to their infrastructure. When countries borrow money which they are then unable to repay there is no such thing as bankruptcy. Countries remain deeply indebted, diverting all of their resources to debt repayments to satisfy their lenders. A country will continue to become more and more damaged by unpayable debts, with public services suffering from a lack of investment and the poorest people going without their basic needs.