Short-term debt in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income): Short-term debt was 13.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Short-term debt in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), 1970–2024
Source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total external debt.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) recorded 13.7% for short-term debt in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.1% on the previous year and down 24.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, short-term debt in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) peaked at 24.8% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 9.0%, in 1987.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 55 years of available data.
Short-term debt in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | % of total external debt | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 10.9% | — |
| 1971 | 9.9% | -9.0% |
| 1972 | 10.9% | +10.2% |
| 1973 | 12.5% | +14.0% |
| 1974 | 12.4% | -0.7% |
| 1975 | 12.7% | +2.5% |
| 1976 | 12.9% | +2.0% |
| 1977 | 21.1% | +62.9% |
| 1978 | 20.9% | -0.7% |
| 1979 | 18.2% | -13.0% |
| 1980 | 18.2% | -0.0% |
| 1981 | 17.9% | -1.5% |
| 1982 | 14.6% | -18.5% |
| 1983 | 15.3% | +4.8% |
| 1984 | 16.9% | +10.3% |
| 1985 | 16.4% | -3.1% |
| 1986 | 10.9% | -33.4% |
| 1987 | 9.0% | -17.8% |
| 1988 | 9.6% | +7.0% |
| 1989 | 10.4% | +7.8% |
| 1990 | 11.7% | +13.1% |
| 1991 | 11.9% | +1.4% |
| 1992 | 13.8% | +15.8% |
| 1993 | 14.9% | +8.3% |
| 1994 | 16.0% | +7.3% |
| 1995 | 17.1% | +7.1% |
| 1996 | 18.3% | +6.6% |
| 1997 | 17.9% | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 18.3% | +2.1% |
| 1999 | 18.5% | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 14.4% | -22.0% |
| 2001 | 14.4% | -0.3% |
| 2002 | 12.1% | -16.2% |
| 2003 | 12.5% | +4.1% |
| 2004 | 14.1% | +12.4% |
| 2005 | 17.3% | +22.8% |
| 2006 | 24.8% | +43.1% |
| 2007 | 24.8% | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 24.1% | -3.0% |
| 2009 | 19.9% | -17.4% |
| 2010 | 20.2% | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 18.0% | -10.8% |
| 2012 | 19.9% | +10.8% |
| 2013 | 19.1% | -4.0% |
| 2014 | 18.0% | -5.8% |
| 2015 | 16.1% | -10.4% |
| 2016 | 14.1% | -12.8% |
| 2017 | 14.7% | +4.3% |
| 2018 | 14.7% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 14.5% | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 13.0% | -10.4% |
| 2021 | 12.6% | -3.0% |
| 2022 | 13.7% | +8.4% |
| 2023 | 13.2% | -3.8% |
| 2024 | 13.7% | +4.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 14.3% | 9.9% | 21.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 13.9% | 9.0% | 18.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 15.8% | 11.7% | 18.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 17.9% | 12.1% | 24.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.9% | 14.1% | 20.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.2% | 12.6% | 13.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
More external debt data for Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed 590.20 million NFL, US$ (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per capita 0.4576 NFL, US$ per person (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per unit of GDP 0.0003 NFL, US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per square kilometre 34.76 NFL, US$ per square kilometre (2023)
- Public and publicly guaranteed debt service 2.7% (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA 11.51 billion NFL, current US$ (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per capita 8.92 NFL, current US$ per person (2024)
- Net financial flows, IDA (NFL, current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0058 NFL, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Net financial flows, IBRD 3.82 billion NFL, current US$ (2024)
- Public and publicly guaranteed debt service 8.9% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is short-term debt in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Short-term debt in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) was 13.7% in 2024, according to International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest short-term debt recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 24.8% in 2007.
- What is the lowest short-term debt recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.0% in 1987.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) rank for short-term debt?
- Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) ranks 9th out of 12 groups with data for 2024.
- Is short-term debt rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding high income) data come from?
- The figures come from International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB), published as part of Short-term debt (% of total external debt). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Short-term debt includes all debt having an original maturity of one year or less and interest in arrears on long-term debt. Total external debt is debt owed to nonresidents repayable in currency, goods, or services. Total external debt is the sum of public, publicly guaranteed, and private nonguaranteed long-term debt, use of IMF credit, and short-term debt.