• Togo’s external debt share rose to 41.1% post-2020

• Shift driven by concessional loans, creditor diversification

• IMF rates debt capacity strong; distress risk remains moderate

Togo’s public debt structure is increasingly moving toward greater international exposure, according to Togo First reporting on the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) report following a review under an Extended Credit Facility (ECF).

The share of external debt in the country’s total indebtedness has risen from 28.3% before the COVID-19 pandemic to 41.1% between 2020 and 2024.

This shift is viewed as a rebalancing of the debt portfolio, specifically through a diversification of creditors and a greater reliance on multilateral partners. Concessional borrowing from the IMF and the World Bank now accounts for more than a quarter of the public debt, up from less than a fifth in 2018.

Simultaneously, the government has reduced its dependence on non-Paris Club creditors in favor of more structured bilateral agreements and commercial borrowing.

In 2024, Lomé signed over $850 million in new external loans, half of which were on concessional terms. This diversification, particularly the use of low-interest loans, is expected to reduce the interest burden and prolong the average maturity of the debt, while also decreasing the country's exposure to the regional market.

Despite a one-off, short-term commercial loan equivalent to 1.7% of GDP, the outlook remains positive: the IMF now rates Togo’s debt-carrying capacity as "strong," with the overall risk of debt distress assessed as "moderate."

R.E.D