34 African countries spend more on external debt payments than healthcare and/or education
This report shines a light on the debt crisis across Africa, showcasing five African countries – Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Zambia, and Malawi. Christian Aid partners highlight how paying debt comes at the expense of African nurses’ salaries, investment in schools and expansion of social protection measures.
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Key findings:
- Total external debt service by all African countries in was $85 billion in 2023 and $104 billion in 2024.
- Total external debt service by all African countries to private creditors was $39 billion in 2023 and $47 billion in 2024.
- Private creditors charge the highest interest rates, at 6.2%.
- 25 African countries spend more on debt than education.
- 32 African countries spend more on debt than healthcare.
The scale of this inequality between Africans and the rest of the world is so great that I am not sure the world will ever forgive us for failing to deliver urgent debt restructuring.
– Gordon Brown, former Prime Minster of the UK.
Africa’s debt crisis
Christian Aid partners highlight how paying debt comes at the expense of African nurses’ salaries, investment in schools and expansion of social protection measures.
