Economy · External debt · Benin
Benin’s external debt rose to $14.2bn in 2024.
$14.2bn
2024
Up $1.6bn from 2023.
Updated 8 Oct 2026
In plain words
$14.2bn
What it is. External debt is the total that a country's government, public bodies and private borrowers owe to lenders outside the country, counted as a stock at a point in time. The figures come from the World Bank's International Debt Statistics and are expressed in current US dollars, so a change in exchange rates alters the dollar value of debt owed in other currencies. Borrowing from lenders inside Benin sits outside the measure, and so does the country's income or export earnings, which determine how easily the debt can be carried.
Lower is better. A lower figure is better because less owed abroad means smaller repayments in foreign currency and less exposure to refinancing on unfavourable terms. Benin's external debt stood at $14.2bn in 2024, up from $12.5bn a year earlier. That is a rise of $1.6bn, or 12.9%. The 2024 figure is the highest since 2015, when the stock was at its lowest in the window at $3.6bn.
Why it matters. Repayments on external debt must be made in foreign currency, so a larger stock leaves the Beninese state with a bigger call on tax revenue and export earnings to pay creditors abroad. Money used for interest and principal is not available for roads, schools or health services. Firms and households feel this indirectly through the budget room the government has and through the exchange rate pressure that foreign payments can create.
| Period | External debt · Benin |
|---|---|
| 2015 | $3.6bn |
| 2016 | $4.2bn |
| 2017 | $4.9bn |
| 2018 | $6.9bn |
| 2019 | $6.9bn |
| 2020 | $8.5bn |
| 2021 | $10.4bn |
| 2022 | $10.9bn |
| 2023 | $12.5bn |
| 2024 | $14.2bn |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
How to read this number
- Source
- Who published the figure
- Published
- When they released it
- Verified
- When we last checked it against the source
Every change is logged in Corrections. How the figure is made: Methodology.
Cite this number
Show text
Strata-AF™ Data, External debt, Benin, 2024; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 8 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/economy/external-debt/benin
Data insights · Worked out from the published figures
What this means
Working this out from the published figures…
Strata AI commentary is coming — reviewed, dated, and generated only from the figures on this page.
Methodology
Total external debt stocks, current US dollars (International Debt Statistics). Unit: USD bn.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series DT.DOD.DECT.CD), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.