Africa-IMF
Reimagining Africa’s IMF Relationship: A Data-Driven Approach
Welcome to our comprehensive database exploring Africa’s relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Indeed, there are ongoing debates about the effectiveness and impact of IMF loans (and austerity policies through imposed conditionalities) on Africa’s long-term growth and can exacerbate financial challenges for African countries.
Our platform provides detailed analyses and data on IMF loan programs, aiming to foster discussions on how to better align these financial instruments with Africa’s development priorities.
EXPLORE OUR DATA
Africa’s IMF Access (Frequency and Amount)
The graphs below show the level of access that African countries have had to IMF resources since 1958 both in terms of volume of funding accessed as well as the frequency of access.
DR Key Takeaways:
- African countries have only been able to access a small share of IMF Over the period 1952 to 2023, the IMF made a total 1529 loan commitments, of which around 40% (608 to be exact) were to African countries. In other words, on average, African countries together borrowed
- The typical African country accessed IMF resources an average of 12 times, which is slightly higher than the global average of 10 times. This means that the typical African country accessed IMF resources just once every five years. Yet, over the same period 1952- 2023, in volume terms, Africa accessed less than 10% of the IMF’s total commitments.
DR’s Key Takeaways:
- The average IMF loan to an African country was approximately US$200 million compared to a global average of US$887 million. Overall, the typical African country has borrowed about a total US$1.5 billion from the IMF, compared to other countries borrowing an average of US$ 8 billion.
- There are just three (3) African countries – Botswana, Libya, and Eritrea – that have never borrowed from the IMF. The top five African borrowers from the IMF in terms of volume include Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya and Angola and account for over 40% of IMF lending to Africa.
- The top borrowers in terms of frequency include Liberia (24), Kenya (23), Morocco (22), Senegal (22), Mali (21) and Madagascar (20).
Share of IMF Instruments: Africa vs Rest of World
The graph below shows the distribution of IMF instruments between African countries and the rest of the world.
DR’s Key Takeaways:
- Just 3 out of 13 IMF instruments account for over 50% of IMF loans taken by African countries. The Extended Credit Facility (ECF), Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Stand-By Arrangement (SBA).
- African countries pay back IMF loans in timely As of December 2024, 30 African countries have outstanding loans with the IMF while 23 do not.
- IMF projections show that from 2023 to 2027, African countries will make payments worth US$48 billion to the Fund.
Previous DR Africa-IMF work
- Are African countries too dependent on the IMF? https://developmentreimagined.com/africancountriesdependonimf/
- Securing Africa’s growth in 2025: https://developmentreimagined.com/infographic-securing-african-growth-in-2025-what-lies-ahead-for-the-continent/
- African Priorities for the G20: https://developmentreimagined.com/african-priorities-for-the-g21-in-2024/
- Will African countries see growth post-COVID? https://developmentreimagined.com/infographic-will-african-countries-see-growth-post-covid/
- The African Development bank is the best route for rechannelling SDRs: https://developmentreimagined.com/the-african-development-bank-is-the-best-route-for-special-drawing-rights-says-a-new-report-by-development-reimagined/
- Reimagining the IMF and other IFIs to work for Africa: https://developmentreimagined.com/imf-and-world-bank-annual-meetings-policy-brief-reimagining-the-international-finance-system-for-africa/
