African Countries Struggle with IMF Loans and Debt
Certain African countries have been granted loans by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2024. However, the agreement with the IMF also requires these countries to implement a set of restrictive economic reforms, commonly known as the Structural Adjustment Program. This program is intended to stabilize their economies and enable them to repay the Fund, but it leads to excessive debt.
The IMF's mission is to help African countries in difficulty regain economic stability for their development. However, this mission is controversial, as it plunges African countries into over-indebtedness to the IMF.
These reforms make African countries even more dependent on IMF financing, a dependence that hinders their development, weakens their economies, and limits their budgetary maneuverability. This reduces their ability to effectively respond to external shocks, such as fluctuations in commodity prices, natural disasters, or global financial crises.
Here is the list of the top 10 African countries indebted to the IMF:
- Egypt: $9,305,675,014
- Kenya: $3,022,009,900
- Angola: $2,900,483,338
- Côte d'Ivoire: $2,746,507,040
- Ghana: $2,514,421,000
- Democratic Republic of the Congo: $1,599,000,000
- Ethiopia: $1,313,857,500
- South Africa: $1,144,200,000
- Cameroon: $1,130,220,000
- Morocco: $1,100,200,000
