Sub-Saharan Africa: Total debt service (% of GNI)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Sub-Saharan Africa's total debt service (% of GNI) rose 0.65 percentage points on 2023 (from 4.19% to 4.84%).

Across the 29 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2023), the average change was +0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.45 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.22 percentage points in 2015 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.95 percentage points in 2003. 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 0.12 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 60% 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.

What this measures

Total debt service is the sum of principal repayments and interest actually paid in currency, goods, or services on long-term debt, interest paid on short-term debt, and repayments (repurchases and charges) to the IMF.

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

All 32 values

Total debt service (% of GNI) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 0.38% (2024)
• Algeria — 0.17% (2024)
• Djibouti — 3.27% (2024)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 8.86% (2024)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 0.08% (2024)
• Iraq — 1.22% (2024)
• Jordan — 7.85% (2024)
• Lebanon — 9.68% (2024)
• Morocco — 5.63% (2024)
• Pakistan — 4.5% (2024)
• Syrian Arab Republic — 0.05% (2022)

More economic policy & debt data for Sub-Saharan Africa

• Charges for the use of intellectual property, payments (BoP, current US$) — US$3.07 billion (2025)
• Portfolio equity, net inflows (BoP, current US$) — −US$459.34 million (2025)
• GDP (current US$) — US$2.21 trillion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$2.13 trillion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$1,673 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$1,615 (2025)
• GDP (annual % growth) — 4.14% (2025)
• GDP per capita (annual % growth) — 1.64% (2025)
• Charges for the use of intellectual property, receipts (BoP, current US$) — US$473.66 million (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Sub-Saharan Africa's total debt service (% of GNI)?

4.84% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1978?

It is up 2.45 percentage points from 2.39% in 1978. The highest value was 4.84% in 2024 and the lowest 1.35% in 2010.

Is the latest change in total debt service (% of GNI) unusual for Sub-Saharan Africa?

In 2024, Sub-Saharan Africa's total debt service (% of GNI) rose 0.65 percentage points on 2023 (from 4.19% to 4.84%). Across the 29 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2023), the average change was +0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.45 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator DT.TDS.DECT.GN.ZS, 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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