African countries with most IMF debt

By Brian Okoth

Forty-seven African countries owe the International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrears ranging from billions to millions of US dollars, with Egypt being the most indebted, while Lesotho has the least loan obligation.

Three African countries — Botswana, Eritrea and Libya — have never taken an IMF loan.

Nigeria, which cleared its IMF loan of $3.4 billion in April 2025, was struck off the debtors' list.

Zimbabwe has, on several occasions recently, been denied loan by the IMF, which cites the country's heavy debt burden as a threat to repayment.

Africa accounts for 52% of indebted countries

Mauritius is the other country not listed on the IMF debtors' list.

There are 91 countries globally that owe the IMF money, with Africa's 47 nations accounting for 52% of the countries in arrears.

Argentina's $40.3 billion debt is the heaviest on the IMF list as of mid-May 2025, followed by Ukraine's $10.8 billion and then Egypt's $8.5 billion.

The IMF is a lender of last resort, meaning it offers loans to cater to crises and emergency situations, and not for development or other related purposes.

Loan conditions

However, before extending a loan, the IMF often gives conditions to borrower nations.

The conditions may include winding down some government parastatals, introducing more taxes, and discontinuing social welfare programmes such as fuel and food subsidies.

Below is the list of African countries with IMF debt, and how much each owes the crisis lender, as of May 13, 2025, according to IMF's published data:

1.         Egypt – $8.5b

2.         Kenya – $3b

3.         Angola – $2.8b

4.         Côte d'Ivoire – $2.6b

5.         Ghana – $2.4b

6.         DRC – $1.8b

7.         Ethiopia – $1.4b

8.         Cameroon – $1.2b

9.         Senegal – $1b

10.       Tanzania – $1b

11.       Zambia – $993m

12.       Uganda – $993m

13.       Sudan – $992m

14.       Morocco – $938m

15.       Benin – $715m

16.       Madagascar – $702m

17.       Rwanda – $607m

18.       Tunisia – $579m

19.       Mozambique – $545m

20.       Chad – $468m

21.       Gabon – $440m

22.       Niger – $420m

23.       Mali – $418m

24.       South Africa – $381m

25.       Congo Republic – $353m

26.       Sierra Leone – $337m

27.       Guinea – $327m

28.       Burkina Faso – $324m

29.       Malawi – $308m

30.       Mauritania – $305m

31.       Togo – $303m

32.       South Sudan – $246m

33.       Central African Republic – $200m

34.       Liberia – $181m

35.       The Gambia – $117m

36.       Burundi – $100m

37.       Seychelles – $97m

38.       Namibia – $96m

39.       Somalia – $87m

40.       Cape Verde – $72m

41.       Equatorial Guinea – $60m

42.       Guinea-Bissau – $52m

43.       Djibouti – $32m

44.       Sao Tome and Principe – $27m

45.       Comoros – $19.9m

46.       Eswatini – $19.6m

47.       Lesotho – $11.7m

48.       Botswana (never taken IMF loan)

49.       Libya (never taken IMF loan)

50.       Eritrea (never taken IMF loan)

51.       Nigeria (cleared $3.4b IMF loan in April 2025)

52.       Algeria (declined to take loan in 2020)

53.       Zimbabwe (IMF declined to extend loan in 2021)

54.       Mauritius (not listed)