Top 10 African Countries With Lowest Debt to IMF in 2025 as Nigeria Exits Debtors’ List

• The International Monetary Fund has released the list of African countries with the lowest debt exposure as of May 2025
• The list shows that Nigeria and Ghana are missing, having exited the debtors’ list in 2025 after repaying COVID-19 loans
• However, about 10 African countries have been listed by the fund as having the lowest debt, with Namibia displacing Seychelles

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

African countries have made significant strides recently in repaying loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Specifically, Nigeria and Ghana have significantly reduced their exposure to IMF loans in the past few weeks.

Nigeria and Ghana exit the IMF’s debtors’ list

These exemplary African countries have moved the needle regarding their debts to the global funding organisation.

However, some countries on the continent still battle high IMF debt, which comes with tough conditionalities, economic adjustment, and austerity measures.

The move by Nigeria and Ghana represents not just data, but sound economic judgement to gain financial and economic autonomy and better resilience to external shocks.

IMF loans come with tough conditions

A country’s low debt exposure to the IMF shows stability and confidence in its macroeconomic foundation.

According to reports, low IMF debt shows sound financial management as the IMF only intervenes when a country faces a severe fiscal crisis or balance of payment challenges, in contrast to market-based banks.

Due to this, a country with low or no debt exposure to the IMF has avoided a major crisis by implementing sensible fiscal policies, efficient tax structures, and sound public expenditure.

Experts have warned that the IMF debt comes with stringent policy prescriptions, including austerity measures, subsidy removal, public sector reforms, or currency devaluations, which might cause social discontent, limiting the government’s ability to carry out social intervention programmes.

Top 10 countries with the lowest IMF debt

In contrast, countries with low IMF debt are insulated from foreign influences, allowing them the leeway to implement beneficial economic policies.

The IMF Data shows the top 10 African countries with the lowest IMF debt.

The data shows that in May, Namibia made the list at the 10th position, displacing Seychelles.

• Lesotho: $11.660,00
• Eswatini: $19.6m
• Comoros; $19.8m
• Sao Tome & Principe: $ 27.4m
• Djibouti: $31.8m
• Guinea-Bissau: $52.2m
• Equatorial Guinea: $59.8m
• Cabo Verde:$72.1m
• Somalia: $97m
• Namibia: $95.5m

FG seeks new World Bank loan

Legit.ng previously reported that as Nigeria continues to rely on borrowing to meet its fiscal obligations, its total debt hit its highest level ever.

According to data released on Friday, April 4, by the Debt Management Office (DMO), the country's debt profile increased to N144.6 trillion at the end of 2024 from N97.3 trillion the year before.

Nigeria's debt, however, decreased in dollar terms, going from $108.2 billion in 2023 to $94.2 billion last year, indicating reduced volatility in the foreign currency market.

Source: Legit.ng