Côte d’Ivoire Spent $1.5 Billion on Debt Servicing in H1 2025

In the first half of 2025, Côte d’Ivoire allocated 861 billion CFA francs, approximately $1.5 billion, to debt servicing, according to data released by the Directorate General of Budget and Finance during a Cabinet briefing on mid-year budget execution.

This amount represented 10.4% of the total public resources mobilized by the government over the period and 24.4% of tax revenues collected between January and June. Although this figure is 52.4 billion CFA francs higher than in the first half of 2024, it is 18.4 billion CFA francs below initial projections.

External debt accounted for the majority of these payments, with 536.7 billion CFA francs, or 62.3% of the total debt service, equivalent to 15.2% of tax revenues and 6.5% of total public resources. Domestic debt servicing amounted to 324.3 billion CFA francs.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects Côte d’Ivoire’s public debt at 58.1% of GDP in 2025, keeping the country in the “moderate risk” category. Despite being an election year, which often leads to increased spending and borrowing, the IMF expects the country to reduce its budget deficit to 3% of GDP, in line with the UEMOA convergence criteria.