Rethinking Africa’s Relationship with Debt: Data, Insights, and Solutions
Welcome to our comprehensive database on African debt, designed to provide nuanced, data-driven insights on Africa’s external debt situation, beyond prevailing narratives of the “African Debt Crisis.”Often, discussions about Africa’s external debt are oversimplified, lacking robust evidence, historical and comparative context, and failing to recognize the diverse economic landscape across the continent. Our platform challenges these constrained views by offering detailed, country-specific analyses that consider the unique circumstances across the continent.
We emphasize the importance of understanding the purposes behind loans, including stressing that debt funds essential growth-inducing assets. By presenting data that highlights Africa’s agency in managing its development, we aim to foster informed discussions and promote equitable solutions for the continent’s financial future.
EXPLORE OUR DATA
Global External Debt Levels, 2024
The graph below shows external debt stocks per country. The graph aims to contextualize the external debt levels of individual African countries within the global context, highlighting the low levels of external debt held by African countries relative to other countries.
DR’s Key Takeaways:
- Currently, Africa’s debt compared to rest of world is relatively low – standing at US$1.15 trillion.
- The region with the highest amount of debt is Asia and Pacific at US$5.1 trillion.
Global Debt Levels
This graph presents global debt levels as a ratio of each country’s gross national income (GNI). This ratio helps to contextualize each country’s debt levels within the respective countries’ level of national income. It offers a more nuanced perspective than the preceding graph which simply looks at the absolute value of each country’s debt.
DR’s Key Takeaways:
- Currently, Africa’s debt compared to rest of world is relatively low – standing at 42% debt-to-GNI.
- The region with the highest amount of debt is Asia and Pacific at 9% debt-to-GNI.
External Debt Stocks Across Regions
This graph presents a comparative view of external debt stocks at the regional level i.e., comparing Africa’s overall debt level to other regions of the world. The debt value is in absolute terms. The graph shows that in absolute terms Africa has one of the lowest external debt stocks compared to other regions.
DR’s Key Takeaways:
- Africa’s highest debt-to-GNI was during 1994 at 9%, this was because of the fiscal constraints of the oil crisis that triggered interest rate hikes, triggering a debt crisis in the developing world.
- Africa’s lowest debt-to-GNI was in 2011 at 5%, this was because of the debt cancellation initiatives such as HIPCI and MDRI that provided debt relief to many African countries in the first decade of the century.
External Debt Stocks By Region
This graph presents a comparative view of external debt stocks at the regional level i.e., comparing Africa’s overall debt level to other regions of the world. The debt value is in absolute terms. The graph shows that in absolute terms Africa has one of the lowest external debt stocks compared to other regions.
DR’s Key Takeaways:
- Currently, Africa’s debt compared to rest of world is relatively low – standing at US$1.15 trillion.
- The region with the highest amount of debt is Asia and Pacific at US$5.1 trillion, followed by Latin America at US$2.1 trillion, Africa at US$1.5 trillion, Europe at US$364 billion and Middle East at US$153 billion.
- Asia has had the fastest rising debt stock, followed by Latin America and Africa.
Africa’s External Debt (Total & %GNI)
The graph below shows the external debt of African countries both in terms of total debt as well as a share of gross national income (GNI).
DR’s Key Takeaways:
- Africa’s total external debt and the share of debt as a percentage of GNI have doubled since 2011, from US$0.5 billion to US$1.15 trillion in 2023, and from 22.5% to 42.1%, respectively.
- Africa’s total external debt increased rapidly between 2015/2016 and 2019/2020 due to the prevailing low interest rate during this period following the GFC.
Total External Debt Levels per Country
The map below shows the total external debt of African countries.
DR’s Key Takeaways:
- Africa’s largest economies also tend to carry the largest levels of external debt with Egypt, South Africa and Nigeria making up the top three in 2023.
- Comoros, Sao Tome, and Eritrea have the lowest levels of external debt, below US$ 1 billion for each.
- The average African country owes US$23.5 billion in external debt.
Africa’s External Debt Levels per Country
The map below shows the external debt of African countries as a share of gross national income (GNI).
DR’s Key Takeaways:
- Only four African countries (Senegal, Mozambique, Mauritius, and Zambia) have a ratio of external debt-to-GNI higher than 100%.
- 28 African countries (51%) have a ratio of external debt-to-GNI less than 51%.
- The average external debt-to-GNI ratio for African countries is 6%, with Mozambique at 355.8% and Algeria at 3.1%.
Previous DR Work
- Policy Brief: Development Reimagined’s Key Initiative: The Borrower’s Club: https://developmentreimagined.com/development-reimagineds-key-initiative-the-borrowers-club-2/
- Report: Infrastructure Spending to Meet the SDGs is incompatible with Debt Sustainability: https://developmentreimagined.com/new-report-infrastructure-spending-to-meet-the-sdgs-and-debt-sustainability-how-to-square-the-circle/
- Policy Brief: Empowering Africa in the G20 – Three T20 Proposals for Equitable Global Financial Reforms: https://developmentreimagined.com/press-release-empowering-africa-three-proposals-for-equitable-global-financial-reforms/
- Infographic: The “African debt crisis” playbook – What’s the real story? https://developmentreimagined.com/africandebtcrisisrealstory/
- Deep Dive of Financing Needs & Debt Vulnerabilities Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal & Côte d’Ivoire 2021: https://developmentreimagined.com/deep-dive-of-financing-needs-debt-vulnerabilities-nigeria-ghana-senegal-cote-divoire-2021/
- Report: How many Eurobonds does Africa have and how might it impact their budgets in the future? https://developmentreimagined.com/africa-and-eurobonds-how-many-eurobonds-does-africa-have-and-how-might-it-impact-their-budgets-in-the-future/
- Infographic: What do Africa’s Eurobonds mean for future debt levels and finance? https://developmentreimagined.com/what-does-africas-eurobonds-mean-for-future-debt-levels-and-finance/
- Policy Brief: Empowering Africa in the G20 – Three T20 Proposals for Equitable Global Financial Reforms: https://developmentreimagined.com/press-release-empowering-africa-three-proposals-for-equitable-global-financial-reforms/
- Event: How Should Africa Reimagine Debt and Development Finance? https://developmentreimagined.com/event-how-should-africa-reimagine-debt-and-development-finance/
