Africa’s debt crisis is mounting and doesn’t look like it would come under control anytime soon.
The continent that holds more than 60 percent of the world’s precious metals with a combined GDP of approximately $3.4 trillion, and a market size linking 1.3 billion people is facing elevated debt pressures, according to the African Economic Outlook of the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The Outlook released at the ongoing Annual Meetings of the AfDB in Brazzaville, Congo points out that Africa continues to face elevated debt pressures amidst a changing global financing landscape.
The Outlook indicates that between 2020 and 2024, Africa’s total public debt stock increased by about 4.4 percent a year and reached $1.9 trillion in 2024, up from $1.6 trillion in 2020, driven by large public spending needs.
However, on the positive side, the debt-to-GDP ratio declined from an average of 63.9 percent in 2023-24 to 62 percent in 2025 and is projected to continue a downward trend at 61.4 per-cent in 2026.
It further states that the declining debt-to-GDP ratio reflects a rebound in economic growth and fiscal consolidation undertaken in several countries, nevertheless, vulnerabilities remain due to the changing structure of public debt. This shift, the Outlook says, has driven up debt service costs, which further constrains fiscal space and crowds out government spending on key social services and infrastructure projects.
It notes that the share of government revenue devoted to external debt service increased from 23.7 percent in 2017 to 31 percent in 2024.
It however states that the medium-term macroeconomic outlook in Africa will continue to evolve in line with the developments in domestic and external factors.
But persistently high oil and fertilizer prices could increase prospects of a global economic slow-down and weigh heavily on African economies, it says.
It also states that inflationary pressures could intensify and necessitate contractionary monetary policies as well as erode household purchasing power.
A weaker global macroeconomic environment and domestic structural rigidities across the continent could exacerbate debt vulnerabilities and constrain fiscal space across many countries, it adds.
By Emmanuel K Dogbevi, in Brazzaville, Congo
