Economy · Public debt · Mozambique
Mozambique’s public debt fell to 71.8% of GDP in 2024.
71.8% of GDP
2024
Down 0.87 pp from 2023.
Updated 8 Oct 2026
In plain words
71.8% of GDP
What it is. This measure adds up what the central government owes and divides it by a year of national output, so the ratio shows the size of the debt against the economy's capacity to carry it. It covers the central government only, so borrowing by state-owned companies and other public bodies sits outside it. The ratio can fall when the economy grows faster than debt does, and it can move when the exchange rate changes the local-currency value of foreign loans.
Lower is better. A lower ratio is better because a smaller share of national income is owed to creditors, which leaves the government more room to borrow in a downturn. The latest figure, for 2024, is 71.8% of GDP, down from 72.6% a year earlier, a fall of 0.87 percentage points. It is the lowest level since 2016, the start of the window. The high over the same period was 101.4% of GDP in 2020, so debt now stands well below that peak.
Why it matters. At 71.8% of GDP, the state still owes an amount close to three quarters of a year's output. Interest on that debt competes with spending on health, schools and roads, which affects households. Firms feel it through the cost and availability of credit when the government borrows heavily at home. The fall from the 2020 high gives the state somewhat more room, and the next annual figure will show whether the decline continues.
| Period | Public debt · Mozambique |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 92.2% of GDP |
| 2017 | 78.5% of GDP |
| 2018 | 81.4% of GDP |
| 2019 | 78.9% of GDP |
| 2020 | 101.4% of GDP |
| 2021 | 84.2% of GDP |
| 2022 | 76.6% of GDP |
| 2023 | 72.6% of GDP |
| 2024 | 71.8% of GDP |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0) · Licence: CC BY 4.0
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Strata-AF™ Data, Public debt, Mozambique, 2024; source World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0), retrieved 8 Oct 2026; https://data.strata-af.com/economy/public-debt/mozambique
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Methodology
Central government debt, total, as a share of GDP. Unit: % of GDP. The measure covers central government only.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (series GC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS), retrieved through the World Bank API and published under CC BY 4.0. Updated annually; the World Bank's own source notes apply.