Government debt
South Africa
South Africa. General government gross debt. Put borrowing in the context of the economy and explore how it has changed over time.
What the figures show
History / IMF estimatesSouth Africa: IMF data and estimates put government debt at 78.4% of GDP in 2025. The derived debt amount is US$ 334.9 billion.
- The debt-to-GDP ratio is 2.4 percentage points above its 2024 level.
- This is above the median of 52.85% of GDP across 192 countries with data for the selected year.
- Over 2015–2025, the debt-to-GDP ratio increases by 33.2 percentage points.
The median is not weighted by economic size. A change in the debt-to-GDP ratio does not necessarily imply the same change in the debt amount. About the data ↗
Government debt over time
Debt as % of GDP. Dashed lines: current-year estimate/projection and future projections.
Chart data table
| Year | South Africa (%) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2031 | 79.8 | IMF projection |
| 2030 | 79.7 | IMF projection |
| 2029 | 79.5 | IMF projection |
| 2028 | 78.8 | IMF projection |
| 2027 | 78.1 | IMF projection |
| 2026 | 78.0 | IMF estimate / projection |
| 2025 | 78.4 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2024 | 76.0 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2023 | 73.2 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2022 | 70.7 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2021 | 68.8 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2020 | 68.9 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2019 | 56.1 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2018 | 51.5 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2017 | 48.6 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2016 | 47.1 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2015 | 45.2 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2014 | 43.3 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2013 | 40.4 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2012 | 37.4 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2011 | 34.7 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2010 | 31.2 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2009 | 27.0 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2008 | 24.0 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2007 | 24.3 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2006 | 28.0 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2005 | 29.6 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2004 | 30.7 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2003 | 31.5 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2002 | 31.8 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2001 | 38.0 | History / IMF estimates |
| 2000 | 37.9 | History / IMF estimates |
The DataMapper API does not provide the actual/estimate cutoff for each country and series. Past years are therefore labelled history/IMF estimates, the current year estimate/projection, and later years projections. Historical values can be revised. There is no simulated real-time debt counter.
Source: IMF WEO · World Economic Outlook (October 2026) · Retrieved 2026-11-01. About the data