Top 10 African countries with the highest debt to the IMF at the start of 2025

As the calendar rolls to 2025, several African countries are confronted with the long-term ramifications of borrowing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Business Insider Africa presents the top 10 African countries with the highest debt to the IMF at the start of 2025.
This list is courtesy of data from the International Monetary Fund.
Egypt ranks number 1 on the list.

While IMF loans can provide a lifeline during economic downturns, starting the new year with a large debt to the IMF creates considerable hurdles.

These loans can worsen economic vulnerabilities, stymie development efforts, and compromise national sovereignty, leaving governments with little leeway in meeting their pressing demands.

Many African countries are expected to have higher economic outputs by 2025, making them less likely to require more borrowing.

Nonetheless, several of these countries have amassed huge debts in recent years, which may prevent the appropriate allocation of state funds.

IMF loans often come with stringent conditionalities, such as austerity measures to ensure repayment. These factors typically force nations to cut public expenditure, raise taxes, or change subsidies.

While these steps may temporarily stabilize economies, they frequently stifle long-term growth.

For African countries with already limited budgetary headroom, big IMF debts imply foregoing essential investments in infrastructure, healthcare, education, and social welfare programs.

This diverts resources away from sectors critical to poverty reduction and sustainable development, resulting in a vicious cycle of underdevelopment.

“Africa’s external debt has grown substantially during the last decade, reaching a record level of $656 billion in 2022.

This was due to reduced export revenues and slow economic growth. For instance, Africa’s growth rate in 2022 was estimated at 3.5 percent, but still lower than the pre-pandemic average of 4.5 percent.

The growth forecast remains subdued, with a slight increase from an average of 3.3 percent in 2023 to 3.5 percent in 2024,” the Unpacking Africa’s Debt report by the UN, states.

With that said, here are the 10 African countries with the highest debt to the IMF as of 20th, January 2025.

Compared to last month, Senegal ousted Morocco from the top 10 position, and several countries including Egypt, Cameroon, Ethiopia, and Cote d’Ivoire all saw reductions in their debt.

While the rest of the countries save DRC which increased its IMF loans, retained the same debt they did at the end of last year.