Total debt service in Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa: Total debt service was 1.3% in 2011. ▲ Rising

Latest (2011)
1.3%
Change on year
up 1.9%
Rank
4th
of 6 groups
All-time high
4.5%
in 1997
All-time low
0.1%
in 1970
Years of data
26
1970–2011

Total debt service in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1970–2011

012341970199020111970: 0.094 % of GDP1972: 1.7 % of GDP1974: 1.6 % of GDP1975: 1.8 % of GDP1976: 1.8 % of GDP1977: 1.9 % of GDP1978: 2 % of GDP1979: 2.4 % of GDP1994: 4 % of GDP1995: 4.5 % of GDP1996: 4.4 % of GDP1997: 4.5 % of GDP1998: 4.3 % of GDP1999: 4.1 % of GDP2000: 3.9 % of GDP2001: 4.1 % of GDP2002: 3.9 % of GDP2003: 2.6 % of GDP2004: 2.1 % of GDP2005: 3.4 % of GDP2006: 3.1 % of GDP2007: 2.1 % of GDP2008: 1.6 % of GDP2009: 1.5 % of GDP2010: 1.3 % of GDP2011: 1.3 % of GDP

Source: World Bank, Global Development Finance. Measured in % of GDP.

Analysis

Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 1.3% for total debt service in 2011.

The figure is up 1.9% on the previous year and down 68.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, total debt service in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 4.5% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1970.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.

Total debt service in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year

Annual values for Total debt service (% of GDP) in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1970 to 2011.
Year % of GDP Change
1970 0.1%
1972 1.7% +1717.6%
1974 1.6% -4.1%
1975 1.8% +11.2%
1976 1.8% -1.0%
1977 1.9% +4.0%
1978 2.0% +8.3%
1979 2.4% +19.7%
1994 4.0% +64.3%
1995 4.5% +11.6%
1996 4.4% -2.9%
1997 4.5% +3.1%
1998 4.3% -3.8%
1999 4.1% -4.8%
2000 3.9% -4.7%
2001 4.1% +4.0%
2002 3.9% -5.3%
2003 2.6% -33.3%
2004 2.1% -16.8%
2005 3.4% +56.7%
2006 3.1% -7.6%
2007 2.1% -32.2%
2008 1.6% -25.1%
2009 1.5% -2.4%
2010 1.3% -16.7%
2011 1.3% +1.9%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 1.7% 0.1% 2.4% 8
1990s 4.3% 4.0% 4.5% 6
2000s 2.8% 1.5% 4.1% 10
2010s 1.3% 1.3% 1.3% 2

Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa

  1. 1 Zimbabwe 11.8% compare
  2. 2 Tunisia 5.7% compare
  3. 3 Djibouti 3.4% compare
  4. 4 Guinea 3.4% compare
  5. 5 Seychelles 3.3% compare
  6. 6 Morocco 3.2% compare
  7. 7 Angola 2.8% compare

See the full ranking of 56 places →

More external debt data for Sub-Saharan Africa

All data for Sub-Saharan Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is total debt service in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Total debt service in Sub-Saharan Africa was 1.3% in 2011, according to World Bank, Global Development Finance.
What is the highest total debt service recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
The highest recorded value was 4.5% in 1997.
What is the lowest total debt service recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1970.
How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for total debt service?
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 4th out of 6 groups with data for 2011.
Is total debt service rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 68.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
The figures come from World Bank, Global Development Finance, published as part of Total debt service (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Total debt service in Sub-Saharan Africa. Statizoid, drawing on World Bank, Global Development Finance. Retrieved 04 September 2026, from https://debt.statizoid.com/stat/total-debt-service-percent-of-gdp/sub-saharan-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://debt.statizoid.com/stat/total-debt-service-percent-of-gdp/sub-saharan-africa/">Total debt service in Sub-Saharan Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Total debt service (% of GDP)
Unit
% of GDP
Source
World Bank, Global Development Finance
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
56 places, 2,088 data points, 1970–2011
Last refreshed

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.