Africa returns to global debt market but prices stay high
Africa’s poorest borrowers, which are eligible for the World Bank’s cheapest financing, paid 9.8% interest on new bonds in 2025.
African nations are returning to global debt markets, accepting some of the highest borrowing costs in the world. According to the World Bank's International Debt Report, external debt owed by low- and middle-income countries reached a record $9.4 trillion in 2025, marking the fastest pace of increase since 2021. The African poorest borrowers, who qualify for the World Bank's cheapest financing, paid 9.8% interest on new bonds that year, nearly double the 5.5% paid by middle-income borrowers, whose rates decreased.
Haishan Fu, the World Bank's Chief Statistician, noted that "Access to international finance has improved, but the price of that finance has not." The report coincides with the launch of the Africa Credit Rating Agency, the African Union's response to complaints that global rating agencies impose unfair risk premiums that cost an estimated $75 billion annually in additional interest fees.
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