This investigative journalism project was necessitated by the growing need to better understand the nature of southern Africa’s debt crisis—with particular reference to Angola, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
These countries were selected in view of the fiscal solvency of their fragile economies and their vulnerability to a rising debt stock, as well as the wider impact on socio-economic development.
The report provides an overview of the risks and challenges faced by the regional states as they seek a path to debt sustainability. In sub-Saharan Africa, 16 countries are classified as having either a high risk of debt distress or being in debt distress. The average public debt in the region was estimated at 57% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as at the end of 2018. Between 2010 and 2018, the debt payments of developing countries increased by 85%, which sent alarm bells ringing.