African countries with most IMF debt

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