Economy · External debt service · Central African Republic
Central African Republic’s external debt service rose to 13.4% of exports in 2024.
13.4% of exports
2024
Up 3.3 pp from 2023.
Updated 8 Oct 2026
In plain words
13.4% of exports
What it is. External debt service shows how much of a country's export earnings goes to repaying the principal and interest it owes to foreign creditors. It divides total debt service payments by exports of goods, services and primary income, so it rises when repayments grow or when export earnings shrink. For the Central African Republic, whose export base is small, the ratio can move sharply on either side. Debt owed to domestic lenders is left out.
Lower is better. A lower share is better because less of the foreign earnings the country brings in is committed to creditors, which leaves more for imports and public spending. The latest figure is 13.4% of exports for 2024, up from 10.1% of exports a year earlier, a rise of 3.3 percentage points. It is the highest reading since 1991. The lowest point in that span was 4.9% of exports in 2020, so the ratio has climbed well above its low.
Why it matters. At 13.4% of exports, a noticeably larger part of the foreign currency the country earns goes to creditors before it can pay for imports such as fuel, food and medicines. For the state, repayments take a bigger claim on scarce external resources and leave less room in the budget for services. The 2024 reading is the figure to check against the next release to see whether the climb continues.
| Period | External debt service · Central African Republic |
|---|---|
| 1991 | 8.3% of exports |
| 1992 | 9.3% of exports |
| 1993 | 5% of exports |
| 1994 | 12.9% of exports |
| 2019 | 8.9% of exports |
| 2020 | 4.9% of exports |
| 2021 | 5.4% of exports |
| 2022 | 5.9% of exports |
| 2023 | 10.1% of exports |
| 2024 | 13.4% of exports |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Strata-AF™ Data, External debt service, Central African Republic, 2024; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 8 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/economy/debt-service/central-african-republic
Data insights · Worked out from the published figures
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Methodology
Total debt service as a share of exports of goods, services and primary income. Unit: % of exports.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series DT.TDS.DECT.EX.ZS), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.