Economy · External debt service · Tunisia
Tunisia’s external debt service rose to 26.2% of exports in 2024.
26.2% of exports
2024
Up 2.1 pp from 2023.
Updated 8 Oct 2026
In plain words
26.2% of exports
What it is. External debt service measures how much of a country's foreign currency earnings goes on repaying debt owed abroad. It adds principal and interest payments and divides them by exports of goods, services and primary income, such as earnings on investments held overseas. Because the denominator is export income, the ratio rises when repayments grow or when export earnings weaken. It says nothing about the size of the debt stock or how much of the repayment is refinanced with new borrowing.
Lower is better. A lower share leaves more export income for imports of fuel, food and equipment, and leaves the country less exposed to a shock in foreign borrowing conditions. Tunisia's latest figure for 2024 is 26.2% of exports, up 2.1 percentage points from 24.1% of exports in 2023. Since 2015 the range runs from 10.3% of exports in 2015 to 30.3% of exports in 2021. The current level sits much closer to the top of that range than to the bottom, and just under the 2021 high.
Why it matters. At 26.2% of exports, a large share of what Tunisia earns abroad goes to external creditors before it can pay for anything else. For the state, repayments compete with the foreign currency needed to import energy, grain and medicines. For firms that import inputs, a heavy repayment burden can mean tighter access to foreign currency.
| Period | External debt service · Tunisia |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 10.3% of exports |
| 2016 | 12.1% of exports |
| 2017 | 17% of exports |
| 2018 | 21.1% of exports |
| 2019 | 22.5% of exports |
| 2020 | 27.7% of exports |
| 2021 | 30.3% of exports |
| 2022 | 23.6% of exports |
| 2023 | 24.1% of exports |
| 2024 | 26.2% 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, Tunisia, 2024; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 8 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/economy/debt-service/tunisia
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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.