Zimbabwe: Total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Zimbabwe's total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) rose 13.43 percentage points on 2022 (from 6.08% to 19.52%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1978 to 2022), the average change was +0.81 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 8.64 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 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 23.69 percentage points in 1983 and the biggest yearly fall was 15.09 percentage points in 2017. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 4% 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

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Zimbabwe in the 2023 ranking

• Cameroon — 1st of 4: 20.15%
• Burundi — 3rd of 4: 10.96%
• Chad — 4th of 4: 8.46%

What this measures

Total debt service to exports of goods, services and primary income. 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 33 values

Total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) in nearby economies

• Angola — 28.91% (2024)
• Benin — 26.81% (2024)
• Botswana — 4.72% (2024)
• Burkina Faso — 13.6% (2024)
• Burundi — 10.96% (2023)
• Cabo Verde — 12.62% (2024)
• Cameroon — 20.15% (2023)
• Central African Republic — 13.4% (2024)
• Chad

More economic policy & debt data for Zimbabwe

• Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (current US$) — US$48.51 billion (2025)
• Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (current LCU) — 1.54 trillion (2025)
• GDP (current US$) — US$51.22 billion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 1.63 trillion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$25.48 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant LCU) — 74.26 billion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$3,021 (2025)
• GDP per capita (current LCU) — 96,071 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$1,503 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 4,381 (2025)
• GNI (current US$)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Zimbabwe's total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income)?

19.52% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1977?

It is up 18.93 percentage points from 0.59% in 1977. The highest value was 36.91% in 1983 and the lowest 0.59% in 1977.

Is the latest change in total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) unusual for Zimbabwe?

In 2023, Zimbabwe's total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) rose 13.43 percentage points on 2022 (from 6.08% to 19.52%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1978 to 2022), the average change was +0.81 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 8.64 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator DT.TDS.DECT.EX.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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