African countries are grappling with mounting debts, highlighting the complex balance between investing in growth and maintaining fiscal responsibility.

Africa is a unique and diverse continent where some of the poorest people on earth live on top of being home to some of the world’s most vital and valuable resources.

Its abundance of natural resources has seen money pour in from nations looking to benefit from obtaining a stake in the elements crucial to the technology of the future, with Russia, China and the UAE all investing in various industries.

But foreign investment brings with it foreign interference and for those countries looking to maximise their resources for their own gain, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) offers a source of funding to do so, free from interference from other state-actors.

Taking on IMF debt brings with it strict conditions, including subsidy cuts, currency adjustments and austerity measures and ten African nations have mounting debts to manage as 2025 approaches.

The top three countries with debts to the IMF include Angola, an oil rich nation who has borrowed £2.4 billion to counter oil price fluctuations and to diversy its economy away from so-called “liquid-gold”.

The second, is Kenya, the commonwealth nation who owes £2.4 billion after borrowing to finance growth in the country and to manage debts occurred over recent decades.

But the country with the most IMF debt is Egypt, who has more than triple any other country with a staggering £7.5 million owed to the fund.

There was a time earlier this year where Senegal, often referred to as Africa’s strongest democracy, was thrown into turmoil as President Macky Sall postponed elections in the country.

In the end, elections were held and a peaceful transfer of power took place but the events highlighted the vulnerability of even the most secure of African states to political instability. With the country owing £880 million to the IMF, political turmoil could have seen the country spiral.

Given its abundance of natural resources, many might be surprised to see South Africa in eighth place with debts of £900 million. But the Covid-19 pandemic hit every country hard and South Africa’s attempts to reduce rampant poverty was no exception. Although the economy has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, the country still sees inflation and unemployment rise.

Ethiopia was once the victim of severe famine which set in motion Bob Geldof’s Band Aid but despite vast improvements in the nation’s economy and infrastructure, the nation still owes more than £1 billion.

Much of the debt is related to money identified to finance reform and help the nation recover from war, with some parts of the country still seeing violent clashes between rebel fighters and government forces in recent years.

One cannot discuss natural resources and Africa without a mention of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Despite high volumes of cobalt, copper, gold, rubber and diamonds, the nation continues to be blighted by war, with decades of fighting seeing the nation saddled with debts.

Egypt has for decades benefited from its ownership of the Suez Canal but conflict in the Middle East and an increase in privacy has affected revenues severely. Add in a wide budget deficit, high interest debts to oil companies and political instability since the Arab Spring, and you being to understand the need for heavy borrowing.

10. Senegal – £890 million

9. Cameroon – £890 million

8. South Africa – £891 million

7. Ethiopia – £1 billion

6. Democratic Republic of Congo – £1.28 billion

5. Côte d’Ivoire – £1.75 billion

4. Ghana – £1.79 billion

3. Angola – £2.39 billion

2. Kenya – £2.41 billion

1. Egypt – £7.5 billion