South Africa: Short-term external debt
* indicates monthly or quarterly data series
| South Africa |
Short-term debt, percent of total external debt |
|---|---|
| Latest value | 27.56 |
| Year | 2024 |
| Measure | percent |
| Data availability | 1994 - 2024 |
| Average | 31.10 |
| Min - Max | 21.14 - 43.99 |
| Source | The World Bank |
The latest value from 2024 is 27.56 percent, an increase from 25.47 percent in 2023. In comparison, the world average is 23.55 percent, based on data from 104 countries. Historically, the average for South Africa from 1994 to 2024 is 31.1 percent. The minimum value, 21.14 percent, was reached in 2020 while the maximum of 43.99 percent was recorded in 1998.
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Definition: External debt with of public and private domestic borrowers to non-residents with maturity of twelve months of less as percent of total external debt. Source: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terms of trade | 113.80 | 2023 | percent |
| Trade openness | 61.65 | 2024 | percent |
| Financial openness | -1.248 | 2022 | index points |
| Exports, percent of GDP | 31.79 | 2024 | percent |
| Exports, billion dollars | 134.18 | 2025 | billion U.S. dollars |
| Growth of exports | -2.45 | 2025 | percent |
| Imports, percent of GDP | 29.85 | 2024 | percent |
| Imports, billion dollars | 126.02 | 2025 | billion U.S. dollars |
| Foreign Direct Investment, percent of GDP | 0.58 | 2024 | percent |
| Foreign Direct Investment, billion dollars | 2.33 | 2024 | billion U.S. dollars |
| Portfolio investment inflows, equities | -3,933.64 | 2024 | million dollars (current) |
| Current account, percent of GDP | -0.64 | 2024 | percent |
| Current account, in dollars | -1.81 | 2025 | billion U.S. dollars |
| Current Account, quarterly | 0.95 | 12/2025 | percent |
| Trade balance, percent of GDP | 1.94 | 2024 | percent |
| Trade balance, in dollars | 7.81 | 2024 | billion U.S. dollars |
| Reserves | 65.43 | 2024 | billion U.S. dollars |
| Remittances, percent of GDP | 0.21 | 2024 | percent |
| Remittances | 1,004.74 | 2025 | million U.S. dollars |
| Net errors and omissions | -991.83 | 2024 | million USD |
| External debt | 44.01 | 2024 | percent |
| Short-term external debt | 27.56 | 2024 | percent |
| Short-term debt to reserves | 74.34 | 2024 | percent |
| External debt in foreign currencies | 56.28 | 2024 | percent |