Business & Markets · Credit to private sector · Benin
Benin’s credit to private sector rose to 19.8% of GDP in 2025.
19.8% of GDP
2025
Up 0.8 pp from 2024.
Updated 8 Oct 2026
In plain words
19.8% of GDP
What it is. This measure adds up the loans and other financial claims that banks and other financial institutions hold on households and private firms, then compares the total with the size of the economy. It shows how far the formal financial system funds private activity. Lending by informal lenders, money raised on bond or stock markets and credit to the government sit outside it.
Neither way is good in itself. A higher share can mean that firms and households find it easier to finance investment and purchases. It can also mean heavier debt and more exposure if borrowers struggle to repay, and a lower share can reflect either cautious lending or weak demand for loans. The latest figure, for 2025, is 19.8% of GDP, up from 19% of GDP a year earlier, a rise of 0.8 percentage points. Since 2016 the range runs from a low of 15.5% of GDP in 2020 to a high of 19.8% of GDP in 2025, so the latest reading sits at the top of its range.
Why it matters. At 19.8% of GDP, private borrowers in Benin hold a larger claim on the financial system's lending than at any point since 2016. Businesses that want to expand and households that want to buy or build have more bank credit available than they did in 2020. The level also means more private debt that must be serviced out of future income.
| Period | Credit to private sector · Benin |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 17.5% of GDP |
| 2017 | 16.6% of GDP |
| 2018 | 16.7% of GDP |
| 2019 | 17.6% of GDP |
| 2020 | 15.5% of GDP |
| 2021 | 15.6% of GDP |
| 2022 | 17.1% of GDP |
| 2023 | 18.6% of GDP |
| 2024 | 19% of GDP |
| 2025 | 19.8% of GDP |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Strata-AF™ Data, Credit to private sector, Benin, 2025; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 8 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/business/private-sector-credit/benin
Data insights · Worked out from the published figures
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Working this out from the published figures…
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Methodology
Domestic credit to the private sector as a share of GDP. Unit: % of GDP.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series FS.AST.PRVT.GD.ZS), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.