Mozambique is among the five African countries with the highest debt/Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio in 2024, according to a report by Yahoo Finance, with Sudan leading the list. This ranking highlights the remarkable disparity in debt sustainability across the continent, as reported by Africa Business Insider.
According to the report, the panorama of debt-to-GDP ratios in Africa is diverse, with Sudan standing out as having the second highest ratio in the world, in a context where five other African countries are mentioned in view of their high debt ratios. Mozambique, according to data up to 29 January 2024, was in 21st place globally, with a debt-to-GDP ratio of 92.4%.
“The study details an upward trend in debt-to-GDP ratios globally, a phenomenon observed for decades and intensified before the pandemic. World public debt, which has tripled since the mid-1970s, has reached alarming figures, and private debt has kept pace with this growth,” explained the Yahoo Finance source.
Emerging from a comprehensive report, these statistics underline the disproportionate challenge faced by developing and low-income economies. Approximately a quarter of these nations are on the brink of situations that resemble sovereign debt defaults (when the country is unable to meet its national debt payments), while a significant segment is on the sidelines of debt crises.
In the African panorama, five countries with the highest debt/GDP ratios in January 2024 stand out:
- Sudan, with a debt/GDP ratio of 2388%, ranks second in the global ranking;
- Cape Verde, with a debt/GDP ratio of 1097%, is in 12th place in the world;
- Mozambique, with 92.4 per cent, is in 21st place;
- The Republic of Congo, with 91.0%, is in 24th place;
- Egypt, with 88.1 per cent, is in 27th place worldwide.
Yahoo Finance, the world’s leading financial information platform, used the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) database on government gross debt for its latest analysis.
This up-to-date data is essential for portraying the fiscal reality of different countries and underpins fundamental economic analyses, the source revealed.
