
South Africa: Government debt in foreign currency, percent
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
| South Africa |
Government debt in foreign currency, percent |
|---|---|
| Latest value | 9.33 |
| Year | 2024 |
| Measure | percent |
| Data availability | 2010 - 2024 |
| Average | 9.23 |
| Min - Max | 6.68 - 11.46 |
| Source | The World Bank |
| Available for | Data download |
The latest value from 2024 is 9.33 percent, a decline from 11.02 percent in 2023. In comparison, the world average is 39.04 percent, based on data from 52 countries. Historically, the average for South Africa from 2010 to 2024 is 9.23 percent. The minimum value, 6.68 percent, was reached in 2010 while the maximum of 11.46 percent was recorded in 2019.
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* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
| Recent values | South Africa: Government debt in foreign currency, percent |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 9.33 |
| 2023 | 11.02 |
| 2022 | 10.54 |
| 2021 | 10.72 |
| 2020 | 9.76 |
| 2019 | 11.46 |
| 2018 | 10.97 |
| 2017 | 9.59 |
Definition: The percent of central government debt that is denominated in foreign currencies. The source for these data is: Kose, M. Ayhan, Sergio Kurlat, Franziska Ohnsorge, and Naotaka Sugawara. 2022. "A Cross-Country Database of Fiscal Space." Journal of International Money and Finance 128 (November): 102682.
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| Related indicators | Latest | Reference | Measure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Government spending, percent of GDP | 18.89 | 2025 | percent |
| Government spending, in dollars | 80.70 | 2025 | billion U.S. dollars |
| Fiscal balance, percent of GDP | -5.79 | 2024 | percent |
| Primary budget balance | -0.61 | 2024 | percent |
| Government expenditure | 376.72 | Q1/2026 | billion |
| Long-term interest rate | 8.70 | 6/2026 | percent |
| Tax revenue | 25.88 | 2024 | percent |
| Taxes on goods and services | 32.09 | 2024 | percent |
| Taxes on international trade | 3.60 | 2024 | percent |
| Income and profits taxes | 50.84 | 2024 | percent |
| Foreign aid | 1,506.95 | 2023 | million U.S. dollars |
| Government debt | 75.96 | 2024 | percent |
| Government debt in foreign currency, percent | 9.33 | 2024 | percent |
| Government debt held by non-residents | 25.16 | 2024 | percent |
| Sovereign debt average maturity | 10.72 | 2024 | percent |
| Short-term government debt | 9.37 | 2024 | percent |