Côte d’Ivoire’s external debt rose to $40.6bn in 2024.

Lower is better. Lower is better because a smaller stock of foreign debt means less money has to be found in dollars or euros for interest and repayment, and the country is less exposed to currency swings and shifts in lender confidence. The latest figure, $40.6bn for 2024, is up from $36.4bn a year earlier, a rise of $4.2bn or 11.6%. It is also the highest reading since 2015, the start of the window, when the stock stood at its lowest of $11.4bn. Debt has therefore grown to well over three times its 2015 level.

Why it matters. A stock of $40.6bn means the Ivorian state and its companies must keep earning or raising foreign currency to meet interest and principal falling due each year. Government budgets carry the cost, as servicing foreign debt competes with spending on schools, health and roads. Exporters of cocoa and other goods earn the dollars that support repayment, so their prices and volumes bear directly on how manageable this debt is.