IMF revises Benin debt to 60.5% of GDP after reclassification

• Debt ratio revised up nearly seven points
• IMF completes final review, unlocks $118m

COTONOU, BENIN – The International Monetary Fund has revised Benin’s public debt sharply higher, even as it completed a landmark economic programme that officials hail as a regional success story.

The Fund said Benin’s central government debt stood at 60.5% of gross domestic product at end-2024, up from a previously estimated 53.4%. The near seven-percentage-point jump follows a reclassification of external loans transferred in 2021 to state-owned and semi-public enterprises back onto the sovereign balance sheet.