Navigating Debt: an analysis of SADC member states’ debt positions
In 2023, reports of Africa launching its own credit rating agency - ACRA (African Credit Rating Agency) picked up steam. The continent’s motivation for doing this is relatively simple - filling out the development financing gap they ascertain is holding most African countries back. Whilst we explored the motivations behind solving the problem, it would also be helpful to outline more solidly what the debt situation within Africa looks like taking a close look at the Southern African region which tends to be our focus area.
This report will therefore serve the purpose of outlining the debt status of Southern African countries (excluding Namibia and Seychelles) with a view to constantly updating in future. In addition to having the raw data outlined - we will also add explainers regarding why each section of the debt payments is important and how each section can possibly affect a country’s economy.
Naturally we will start by exploring the total external debts for 14 of the 16 SADC countries. Total external debt is the cumulative outstanding debt owed by a country to non-resident creditors.
| Territory | 2010 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| Angola | $26,796.0 | $61,791.0 | $62,292.0 | $65,387.0 | $66,087.0 | $60,107.0 |
| Botswana | $1,807.0 | $1,782.0 | $1,565.0 | $1,597.0 | $1,982.0 | $1,968.0 |
| Comoros | $278.4 | $240.0 | $259.3 | $296.6 | $350.3 | $368.7 |
| DRC | $6,127.0 | $5,826.0 | $6,487.0 | $7,084.0 | $9,186.0 | $9,432.0 |
| Eswatini | $1,016.0 | $766.0 | $834.0 | $957.0 | $1,179.0 | $1,211.0 |
| Lesotho | $788.0 | $1,463.0 | $1,583.0 | $1,738.0 | $1,833.0 | $1,810.0 |
| Madagascar | $2,756.0 | $3,720.0 | $4,045.0 | $4,841.0 | $5,345.0 | $5,938.0 |
| Malawi | $1,021.0 | $2,266.0 | $2,429.0 | $2,943.0 | $3,198.0 | $3,338.0 |
| Mauritius | $7,929.0 | $11,234.0 | $12,361.0 | $12,402.0 | $14,706.0 | $17,365.0 |
| Mozambique | $11,231.0 | $49,810.0 | $54,212.0 | $58,708.0 | $62,733.0 | $64,028.0 |
| South Africa | $115,322.0 | $180,184.0 | $190,738.0 | $175,417.0 | $169,438.0 | $172,133.0 |
| Tanzania | $8,937.0 | $22,363.0 | $24,174.0 | $25,546.0 | $28,506.0 | $30,170.0 |
| Zambia | $4,373.0 | $25,041.0 | $29,768.0 | $29,987.0 | $27,345.0 | $28,701.0 |
| Zimbabwe | $6,763.0 | $12,655.0 | $12,286.0 | $12,784.0 | $13,751.0 | $13,767.0 |
Note II: Data for Namibia and Seychelles wasn’t available on World Bank databases
Tagged: Angola Debt, Botswana Debt, comoros debt, DRC debt, Eswatini debt, lesotho debt, Madagascar debt, Malawi debt, Mauritius debt, Mozambique debt, Namibia debt, SADC