Faith Nyasuguta
According to Investopedia, the debt-to-GDP ratio is a significant metric for comparing a nation’s gross national debt to its gross domestic product (GDP). It measures how much a country owes compared to everything the country currently produces.
You may have already learnt that the GDP comprehensively measures the monetary value of all the products and services produced in a country within a given period, mostly a year.
With the comparison of the ratio of a country’s public debt with its GDP, decision-makers and multilateral lenders get to obtain reliable insight/understanding of the country’s capability to repay its debts.
“By comparing what a country owes with what it produces, the debt-to-GDP ratio reliably indicates that particular country’s ability to pay back its debts. Often expressed as a percentage, this ratio can also be interpreted as the number of years needed to pay back debt if GDP is dedicated entirely to debt repayment,” says Investopedia.
Discussions about the debt-to-GDP ratio of African countries are necessary at this moment since the public debt stock across the continent has been climbing to levels never before seen in the history of modernity.
A fresh report by the World Bank shows that over half of the low-income countries in the world, most of which are in Africa, are either currently grappling with debt distress or at risk of doing so.
Also, Standard Bank Group had, earlier in the year, red-flagged Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Zambia and Angola as African countries that could soon experience serious debt risks.
Below are 30 African countries with the highest and lowest debt-to-GDP ratios. This list is courtesy of a report by Statista dated December 2021.
15 African countries with the highest debt to GDP ratio
1.Cape Verde 🇨🇻: Has a debt-to-GDP ratio of 159.2%.
2.Eritrea 🇪🇷: Has national debt to GDP of 151.9%.
3.Mozambique 🇲🇿: Has national debt to GDP of 102%.
4.Mauritius🇲🇺: Has national debt to GDP of 98.9%.
5. Ghana 🇬🇭 : Has national debt to GDP of 84.6%.
6. The Gambia 🇬🇲 : Has national debt to GDP of 80.4%.
7. Guinea-Bissau 🇬🇼 : Has national debt to GDP of 79.7%.
8. Seychelles 🇸🇨 : Has national debt to GDP of 7967%.
9.Senegal 🇸🇳: Has national debt to GDP of 75.3%.
10.Sierra Leone 🇸🇱: Has national debt to GDP of 75%.
11.Rwanda 🇷🇼: Has national debt to GDP of 72%.
12.Kenya 🇰🇪 : Has national debt to GDP of 70.3%.
13.South Africa 🇿🇦 : Has national debt to GDP of 70.2%.
14.Namibia 🇳🇦 : Has national debt to GDP of 69.6%.
15.Burundi 🇧🇮 : Has national debt to GDP of 69.2%.
15 African countries with the lowest debt to GDP ratio
1.D.R Congo 🇨🇩: Has national debt to GDP of 10.6%.
2.Botswana 🇧🇼 : Has national debt to GDP of 23.2%.
3.Equatorial Guinea 🇬🇳 : Has national debt to GDP of 27.8%.
4.Comoros 🇰🇲 : Has national debt to GDP of 30.4%.
5.Nigeria 🇳🇬 : Has national debt to GDP of 37.4%.
6.Guinea🇬🇳 : Has national debt to GDP of 39.1%.
7.Tanzania 🇹🇿 : Has national debt to GDP of 39.8%.
8.Cameroon 🇨🇲 : Has national debt to GDP of 45.2%.
9.Eswatini 🇸🇿 : Has national debt to GDP of 45.6%.
10.Central Africa Republic 🇨🇫: Has national debt to GDP of 46.3%.
11.Chad 🇹🇩 : Has national debt to GDP of 46.5%.
12.Ethiopia 🇪🇹 : Has national debt to GDP of 48.3%.
13.Benin 🇧🇯 : Has national debt to GDP of 49.3%.
14.South Sudan 🇸🇩 : Has national debt to GDP of 50.5%.
15.Liberia 🇱🇷 : Has national debt to GDP of 51.6%.
