Average public debt across the region rose close to 56% of GDP at the end of 2018, with wide disparities in debt dynamics across countries. For example, in 2018, public debt to GDP stood at 72% in Zambia and 100% in Mozambique. Debt-service costs rose sharply, with the median interest payment burden doubling to about 10% of revenue between 2011 and 2018.
By the end of 2019, economic growth in SSA was seen to be improving from the low base of the early 1990s. Real GDP was projected to increase by 3.7% in 2020. But this was still well below the averages of the 2000s.