Business & Markets · Credit to private sector · Mali
Mali’s credit to private sector fell to 20.4% of GDP in 2025.
20.4% of GDP
2025
Down 2 pp from 2024.
Updated 8 Oct 2026
In plain words
20.4% of GDP
What it is. This measure adds up the loans and other claims that banks and other financial institutions hold against households and private firms, then divides the total by the size of the economy. It shows how far formal finance reaches into private activity, from trade credit lines to equipment loans. Lending to the government is excluded, and so are informal loans between traders, family or neighbours.
Neither way is good in itself. A higher ratio can mean a deeper financial system that funds growth, or a debt build-up that raises risk. A lower ratio can mean cautious lenders or an economy growing faster than credit. The latest figure, 20.4% of GDP for 2025, is down from 22.4% of GDP a year earlier, a fall of 2 percentage points. It is the lowest reading since 2016, and sits well below the peak of 24.8% of GDP in 2022.
Why it matters. At 20.4% of GDP, formal credit funds a modest slice of Mali's economy, so many firms and households rely on their own savings and informal lenders for working capital. The slide from the 2022 peak means banks have extended less credit relative to output, which matters most for small traders and farmers who need seasonal finance. The next annual reading will show whether the ratio recovers towards the 24.8% of GDP reached in 2022.
| Period | Credit to private sector · Mali |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 22.1% of GDP |
| 2017 | 21.8% of GDP |
| 2018 | 21.4% of GDP |
| 2019 | 20.7% of GDP |
| 2020 | 21.9% of GDP |
| 2021 | 23.7% of GDP |
| 2022 | 24.8% of GDP |
| 2023 | 23.2% of GDP |
| 2024 | 22.4% of GDP |
| 2025 | 20.4% 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, Mali, 2025; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 8 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/business/private-sector-credit/mali
Data insights · Worked 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.