New Data Reveals China’s Complex Role in Africa’s Debt Portfolio

Chart for each grouping of Africa's public debt – private, multilateral, or bilateral. More than 43% of African external debt is owed to private creditors, 23% to bilateral creditors, and 34% to multilateral creditors. Source: International Debt Statistics (IDS) database

China was once Africa’s largest bilateral creditor, but now, as many of those loans come due, it’s become the continent’s largest bilateral collector, according to a new report by the UK-based NGO ONE Data.

The so-called “Great Reversal” that ONE Data identified highlights how African countries borrowed $30.4 billion from China during the period from 2010 to 2014, and repaid $22.1 billion of those loans over the past five years — a $52.5 billion swing.

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by Eric Olander

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