Benin's total external debt rose 16.5% to $16.9bn at the end of 2025 from $14.5bn a year earlier, while long-term public and publicly guaranteed external debt climbed 25% to $11.2bn, according to World Bank data reported by Bénin Web TV. Debt service rose to 29.2% of exports from 26.6%, the outlet said.
Analysis: Benin's external debt grew three times as fast as the 5.5% recorded across developing countries in the World Bank's annual debt report. Private lenders now hold 45.5% of its long-term public external debt, and bondholders 24.6%, by our calculation. Payments of about $1.1bn last year equal roughly $3mn a day. These figures cover all external debt, including private borrowers, so they differ from the 9,122bn FCFA (€13.9bn) of public debt at end-June in the national debt bulletin. An end-September bulletin had not been published by November 9.
Source: Bénin Web TV, Bénin Web TV, 'la dette extérieure bondit de 16,5 %…' (November 6, 2026), citing World Bank data (International Debt Report 2026), 2025 and 2024; Various, Hürriyet Daily News (Reuters), November 6, 2026, 2025; Caisse Autonome d'Amortissement / MEF, Bulletin statistique de la dette publique (CAGD, Caisse autonome de gestion de la dette), reported by Bénin Web TV, 30 June 2026