IMF Notes

Breaking the Trend: Debt Stabilization in Sub-Saharan Africa

By Athene Laws, Thibault Lemaire, Rachid Pafadnam, Nikola Spatafora, Khushboo Khandelwal

April 25, 2025

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Format: Chicago

Athene Laws, Thibault Lemaire, Rachid Pafadnam, Nikola Spatafora, and Khushboo Khandelwal. "Breaking the Trend: Debt Stabilization in Sub-Saharan Africa", IMF Notes 2025, 001 (2025), accessed April 26, 2025, https://doi.org/10.5089/9798229008679.068

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Summary

Historical experience suggests that stabilizing debt across sub-Saharan Africa is still achievable in most cases, even though debt levels are elevated and vulnerabilities are high. Countries in the region, over recent decades, have often been able to consolidate (stabilize or reduce) their debt ratios without debt restructuring. Many countries have done so recently, even after the end of the commodity super cycle. Successful debt stabilization requires measures to strengthen public finances and a sound macroeconomic environment, strong institutions, and pro-growth structural reforms.

Subject: Asset and liability management, Debt management, Debt reduction, Debt restructuring, Economic classification, Public debt, Public financial management (PFM)

Keywords: Athene law, Debt Consolidation, Debt management, Debt reduction, Debt restructuring, Debt stabilization, Economic classification, Economic Growth, Fiscal Policy, Global, IMF analysis, IMF note, IMF staff calculation, Public Debt Management, Sub-Saharan Africa

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