Home Of Ghana News Ghana News, Entertainment And More
Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory record highest debt levels in the sub-region
Governments in West Africa continue to borrow significantly, Report
It is important to note that figures captured from the Statista report were published on June 10, 2021. Public debt stocks of the countries mentioned are likely to have increased
Ghana, Nigeria and Ivory Coast have this year registered the highest public debts in West Africa.
This is according to data obtained from Statista, a leading German markets and consumer data provider.
According to the report, Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast registered the highest public debts in the region with US$79.5 billion, US$21.9 billion and US$19.5 billion respectively.
“As of 2021, the total external public debt in West Africa amounted to around 164 billion U.S. dollars. Nigeria and Ghana recorded the highest levels of debt in the region, at approximately 79.54 billion U.S. dollars and 21.91 billion U.S. dollars, respectively,” portions of the report by Statista revealed.
“On the other hand, Gambia and Guinea-Bissau registered the lowest values, at 823 million U.S. dollars and 381 million U.S. dollars, respectively,” the report added.
The market analysis firms however point that between June 10, 2021, when the report was first published, up until the present, it is most likely the public debt stocks of most countries in the West Africa sub-region may have increased significantly as these nations continue to borrow.
Statista in its report captured a total of 15 West African nations.
Meanwhile, public debt stock in plain terms is defined as the total amount of debts incurred when a government borrows and is expected to pay back.
See below the list of public debts captured for 15 West African countries:
Nigeria: $79.5 billion
Ghana: $21.9 billion
Ivory Coast: $19.5 billion
Senegal: $13.7 billion
Mali: $5.1 billion
Guinea: $4.8 billion
Niger: $4.2 billion
Benin: $3.8 billion
Burkina Faso: $3.7 billion
Cape Verde: $1.9 billion
Sierra Leone: $1.8 billion
Togo: $1.4 billion
Liberia: $1.3 billion
Gambia: $823 million
Guinea-Bissau: $382 million
