This research briefing investigates who African governments’ external debt is owed to, and whether loans from China are as large a portion of the debt as has been recently claimed in the media. It finds that:
- African government external debt payments have doubled in two years, from an average of 5.9% of government revenue in 2015 to 11.8% in 2017
- 20% of African government external debt is owed to China
- 17% of African government external interest payments are made to China
- In contrast, 32% of African government external debt is owed to private lenders, and 35% to multilateral institutions such as the World Bank
- 55% of external interest payments are to private creditors
Read the briefing here.