South Africa: PPG, official creditors (NFL, current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, South Africa's PPG, official creditors (NFL, current US$) rose US$1.36 billion on 2023 (from US$627.46 million to US$1.99 billion).

Across the 24 yearly changes before that (2000 to 2023), the average change was +US$24.32 million and a typical year strayed about US$636.23 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was US$1.52 billion in 2017 and the biggest yearly fall was US$1.63 billion in 2018. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 18% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

How it compares

In 2024, South Africa had the 10th highest value of the 118 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to South Africa in the 2024 ranking

• Türkiye — 7th of 118: US$3.06 billion
• Indonesia — 8th of 118: US$2.25 billion
• Tanzania — 9th of 118: US$2.13 billion
• Morocco — 11th of 118: US$1.96 billion
• Ethiopia — 12th of 118: US$1.59 billion
• Ecuador — 13th of 118: US$1.41 billion

What this measures

Public and publicly guaranteed debt from official creditors includes loans from international organizations (multilateral loans) and loans from governments (bilateral loans). Loans from international organization include loans and credits from the World Bank, regional development banks, and other multilateral and intergovernmental agencies. Excluded are loans from funds administered by an international organization on behalf of a single donor government; these are classified as loans from governments. Government loans include loans from governments and their agencies (including central banks), loans from autonomous bodies, and direct loans from official export credit agencies. Net flows (or net lending or net disbursements) received by the borrower during the year are disbursements minus principal repayments. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

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

All 26 values

PPG, official creditors (NFL, current US$) in nearby economies

• Angola — US$290.38 million (2024)
• Benin — US$1.09 billion (2024)
• Botswana — US$301.99 million (2024)
• Burkina Faso — US$440.06 million (2024)
• Burundi — US$12.99 million (2024)
• Cabo Verde — US$17.07 million (2024)
• Cameroon — US$368.35 million (2024)
• Central African Republic — −US$9.27 million (2024)
• Chad — US$453.23 million (2024)
• Comoros — US$10.12 million (2024)

More economic policy & debt data for South Africa

• Trade in services (% of GDP) — 9.32% (2025)
• Communications, computer, etc. (% of service imports, BoP) — 44.9% (2025)
• Primary income payments (BoP, current US$) — US$20.32 billion (2025)
• Imports of goods and services (current US$, BoP) — US$126.24 billion (2025)
• Insurance and financial services (% of service imports, BoP) — 5.58% (2025)
• Goods imports (current US$, BoP) — US$104.47 billion (2025)
• Service imports (current US$, BoP) — US$21.77 billion (2025)
• Charges for the use of intellectual property, payments (BoP, current US$) — US$1.74 billion (2025)
• Imports of goods, services and primary income (current US$, BoP)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is South Africa's PPG, official creditors (NFL, current US$)?

US$1.99 billion in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1999?

It is up 4,452% from US$43.71 million in 1999 (16.5% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$1.99 billion in 2024 and the lowest −US$21.66 million in 2007.

How does South Africa rank?

10th highest of 118 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in PPG, official creditors (NFL, current US$) unusual for South Africa?

In 2024, South Africa's PPG, official creditors (NFL, current US$) rose US$1.36 billion on 2023 (from US$627.46 million to US$1.99 billion). Across the 24 yearly changes before that (2000 to 2023), the average change was +US$24.32 million and a typical year strayed about US$636.23 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator DT.NFL.OFFT.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB) 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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