WAEMU: Togo is the least exposed to external debt

Economic governance
Monday, 09 December 2019 17:47
WAEMU: Togo is the least exposed to external debt

(Togo First) - Despite its moderate over-indebtedness profile, Togo is the country with the lowest external debt ratio in the Umoa, according to a BCEAO study published last week.

While overall public debt is struggling to fall below the EU's 70% mark, its external debt represents only 19.2% of GDP, down two basis points from a year earlier.

Togo is the least exposed to exchange risk in West Africa since its commitments are mostly in the local currency. The country also curbed its sovereign guarantees since it was negatively impacted as a result of massive prefinancing in infrastructure some years ago. 

Across the region, Côte d'Ivoire has the greatest external risk. The country's external debt represents 47% of its GDP. In Mali, it represents 29%, 28% in Senegal and 22% in Burkina Faso. 

According to the latest available data, outstanding external debts of WAEMU States stood at XOF17,656.4 billion at the end of December 2018 (against XOF15,658.6 billion at end-December 2017). This is up 12.8% and the debt represented 27.5% of the Union's GDP. 

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