Public and publicly guaranteed debt service in South Africa
South Africa: Public and publicly guaranteed debt service was 2.3% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Public and publicly guaranteed debt service in South Africa, 1994–2024
Source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of GNI.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 2.3% for public and publicly guaranteed debt service in 2024.
The figure is down 14.6% on the previous year and up 90.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public and publicly guaranteed debt service in South Africa peaked at 4.7% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2010.
South Africa ranks 57th of 123 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Public and publicly guaranteed debt service in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of GNI | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 1.0% | — |
| 1995 | 1.0% | +6.5% |
| 1996 | 1.4% | +33.5% |
| 1997 | 1.3% | -7.1% |
| 1998 | 1.8% | +36.7% |
| 1999 | 0.8% | -54.9% |
| 2000 | 1.6% | +95.7% |
| 2001 | 2.0% | +29.5% |
| 2002 | 1.5% | -25.2% |
| 2003 | 1.2% | -19.9% |
| 2004 | 0.8% | -34.4% |
| 2005 | 1.4% | +80.8% |
| 2006 | 1.5% | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 0.8% | -42.0% |
| 2008 | 1.0% | +22.1% |
| 2009 | 1.0% | -4.3% |
| 2010 | 0.8% | -19.7% |
| 2011 | 0.8% | +6.6% |
| 2012 | 1.4% | +67.4% |
| 2013 | 2.2% | +52.4% |
| 2014 | 1.2% | -44.6% |
| 2015 | 4.7% | +293.5% |
| 2016 | 1.8% | -61.5% |
| 2017 | 1.5% | -17.4% |
| 2018 | 4.0% | +167.1% |
| 2019 | 2.0% | -49.3% |
| 2020 | 3.3% | +65.4% |
| 2021 | 2.8% | -17.7% |
| 2022 | 3.4% | +24.6% |
| 2023 | 2.7% | -22.4% |
| 2024 | 2.3% | -14.6% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 2.3% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.9%, 79% of the median. (52 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 2.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.6%, 1.4× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Public and publicly guaranteed debt service in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | +293.5% | 1.2% | 4.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 1.2% | 0.8% | 1.8% | 6 |
| 2000s | 1.3% | 0.8% | 2.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.0% | 0.8% | 4.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.9% | 2.3% | 3.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More external debt data for South Africa
- IFC, private nonguaranteed -15.41 million NFL, US$ (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per capita -0.2407 NFL, US$ per person (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per unit of GDP -0 NFL, US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per square kilometre 444.22 NFL, US$ per square kilometre (2023)
- Net financial flows, IBRD 910.75 million NFL, current US$ (2024)
- Public and publicly guaranteed debt service 6.5% (2024)
- Net financial flows, IBRD (NFL, current US$), annual growth rate -109.7 % change on previous year (2023)
- Other investment, Debt instruments 53.54 billion US dollar (2025)
- Use of IMF credit 7.63 billion DOD, current US$ (2024)
- External debt stocks, public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) 97.81 billion DOD, current US$ (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public and publicly guaranteed debt service in South Africa?
- Public and publicly guaranteed debt service in South Africa was 2.3% in 2024, according to International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest public and publicly guaranteed debt service recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 4.7% in 2015.
- What is the lowest public and publicly guaranteed debt service recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2010.
- How does South Africa rank for public and publicly guaranteed debt service?
- South Africa ranks 57th out of 123 countries with data for 2024.
- Is public and publicly guaranteed debt service rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 90.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB), published as part of Public and publicly guaranteed debt service (% of GNI). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Public and publicly guaranteed debt service to gross national income. Public and publicly guaranteed debt service is the sum of principal repayments and interest actually paid in currency, goods, or services on long-term obligations of public debtors and long-term private obligations guaranteed by a public entity. GNI (formerly GNP) is the sum of value added by all resident producers plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not included in the valuation of output plus net receipts of primary income (compensation of employees and property income) from abroad.