This note focuses on the status of public debt management (DM) performance in developing countries, primarily those classified by the World Bank as low- or lower-middle-income countries.2 It describes how the Debt Management Performance Assessment (DeMPA) tool measures DM performance in individual countries, and draws on the findings from the 44 DeMPA reports that have been finalized to date to describe the current state of DM performance and highlight particular strengths and weaknesses. Equally important, it illustrates how the DeMPA tool may be used by policymakers to manage some of the operational, institutional and technical challenges they face in meeting the requirements of modern day debt management to ensure public debt is managed effectively.