African governments owed USD 708 bn abroad at the end of 2024, three times the USD 238 bn of 2000.
USD 708 bn
owed abroad by 50 African governments at the end of 2024, up from USD 238 bn in 2000
27%
owed to bondholders, USD 193 bn; 5% in 2000
USD 82.2 bn
owed to China, down from USD 91.9 bn in 2021; the largest bilateral creditor in 28 countries
USD 96 bn
IMF credit and SDR allocations on top, counted apart from the creditors
That is public and publicly guaranteed debt to foreign creditors, as 50 of the continent's 54 states report it to the World Bank. 38% of it is owed to multilateral lenders, led by the World Bank's concessional arm. 27% is owed to bondholders, against 5% in 2000. 12% is owed to Chinese lenders, the largest bilateral creditor in 28 countries.
The creditors have changed more than the total. In 2000 European governments and banks held 28% of the stock; now they hold 10%. China's share rose through the 2010s and its stock peaked at USD 91.9 bn in 2021; it has since been repaid faster than new loans were signed, to USD 82.2 bn. The money that replaced both came from the bond market: Eurobonds took the stock owed to bondholders from USD 12 bn to USD 193 bn.
World Bank International Debt Statistics to 2024, release of 3 Dec 2025, fetched 12 Oct 2026 · 137 creditors · no creditor data for Libya, Namibia, Seychelles, South Sudan
28 of 50governments have China as their largest bilateral creditor at the end of 2024. Each country is coloured by its largest; multilateral lenders and bondholders are left out.China 28Europe 9Gulf states 9United States 1Other lenders 3
How the creditors changed, 2000–2024
Each column is the stock owed at the end of a year, split by creditor. Three shifts are visible: Europe's share shrinking after the debt relief of the 2000s, China's loans growing through the 2010s, and bonds, almost absent in 2000, becoming the second-largest creditor.
External public debt of African governments by creditor, USD bn
Public and publicly guaranteed, end of each year, current US dollars, summed over 50 countries. Hover a year for its split.
“Other lenders” holds Japan and Korea, India, Russia, Turkey, other African states, every other lending country, and syndicated loans the World Bank books to “multiple lenders”. The tables below name them one by one. Amounts are in current dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
Where it is owed
Each country's ring is sized by everything it owes abroad; the disc inside it, on the same scale, is the part owed to one creditor group. China is shown first; switch on bondholders or multilateral lenders to compare. Hover a country for its full split.