Djibouti’s external debt service rose to 2.5% of exports in 2024.

Lower is better. A lower share means less of the country's foreign earnings goes to creditors, which leaves more for imports and for building reserves. Djibouti's latest figure is 2.5% of exports for 2024, up from 1.6% of exports a year earlier, a rise of 0.89 percentage points. That is the highest level since 2015 and sits at the top of the range for the period. The lowest point in the same span was 1.2% of exports in 2021.

Why it matters. At 2.5% of exports, only a small slice of Djibouti's foreign earnings goes to servicing external debt, so most of that income remains available for buying imports. The climb from the 2021 low means the government and other borrowers now set aside more foreign currency for creditors each year. Whether the ratio keeps rising depends on repayment schedules and on export earnings in the years after 2024.