Africa Eastern and Southern: Borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Africa Eastern and Southern's borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults) fell 1.39 on 2023 (from 61.18 to 59.79).

Across the 19 yearly changes before that (2005 to 2023), the average change was +2.95 and a typical year strayed about 5.17 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 10.96 in 2021 and the biggest yearly fall was 9.41 in 2023. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 3.85 a year. A straight line explains 80% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Borrowers from commercial banks are the reported number of resident customers that are nonfinancial corporations (public and private) and households who obtained loans from commercial banks and other banks functioning as commercial banks.

Limitations: For many countries data cover the total number of loan accounts due to lack of information on loan account holders. For several countries, data cover all borrowers including commercial banks, credit unions and financial cooperatives, deposit taking microfinance institutions, and other deposit takers. These include all resident financial corporations and quasi-corporations (except the central bank) that are mainly engaged in financial intermediation and that issue liabilities included in the national definition of broad money.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.

All 21 values

Borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 3.29 (2019)
• Algeria — 43.39 (2024)
• Bahrain — 191.97 (2024)
• Djibouti — 42.46 (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 132.95 (2024)
• Kuwait — 198.93 (2024)
• Lebanon — 70.82 (2024)
• Pakistan — 23.34 (2024)
• Qatar — 280.89 (2021)
• Saudi Arabia

More financial sector data for Africa Eastern and Southern

• Inflation, GDP deflator (annual % growth) — 5.85% (2025)
• Broad money (% of GDP) — 49.2% (2025)
• Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 35.53% (2025)
• Monetary sector credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 35.61% (2025)
• Claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) — 9.28% (2025)
• Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 48.08% (2024)
• Inflation, consumer prices (annual % growth) — 4.27% (2025)
• Stocks traded, turnover ratio of domestic shares (%) — 24.88% (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Africa Eastern and Southern's borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults)?

59.79 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2004?

It is up 1,056% from 5.17 in 2004 (13.02% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 70.59 in 2022 and the lowest 5.17 in 2004.

Is the latest change in borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults) unusual for Africa Eastern and Southern?

In 2024, Africa Eastern and Southern's borrowers from commercial banks (per 1,000 adults) fell 1.39 on 2023 (from 61.18 to 59.79). Across the 19 yearly changes before that (2005 to 2023), the average change was +2.95 and a typical year strayed about 5.17 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FB.CBK.BRWR.P3, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Financial Access Survey, International Monetary Fund (IMF), uri: https://data.imf.org/en/datasets/IMF.STA:FAS Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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