Countdown of African Nations with the Greatest Yields on Government Debt Bonds in 2025
Headline: Sub-Saharan Africa Leads Global Sovereign Bond Yields in 2025
Sub-Saharan African nations have dominated the top 10 countries offering the highest 10-year sovereign bond yields in 2025. This trend is a reflection of the increasing efforts by African governments to raise investments, as debt servicing becomes an increasing issue for the region.
Angola's government-issued sovereign bonds have an interest rate of 19.5%, as set during its March 2025 general meeting. Ghana agreed to a sovereign bond interest rate of 28% after a similar meeting. Egypt pegged its interest rate on sovereign bond yield at 25.50% after its April 2025 general meeting, while the government of Sierra Leone benchmarked its interest rate at 24.75% and has maintained an average rate of 19.02% from 2000 to 2025.
Zimbabwe has the highest interest rates on the continent, sitting at 35% on its sovereign bonds. Liberia has maintained a benchmark interest rate of 19.12% for its government-issued sovereign bonds since 2019. Congo offers a 25% interest rate on its sovereign bonds.
The interest bill on public external debts in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to be approximately $20 billion in 2025 alone. This high interest burden amounts to 3.4% of the total GDP between 2025 and 2027 of the region combined.
Inflation rates in some countries have also been on the rise. Zimbabwe's monthly consumer inflation climbed to 10.5% in January 2025, while Egypt's annual headline inflation decelerated to 13.6% in March 2025, though core inflation fell to 9.4%. Ghana's annual consumer inflation eased for the second month to 23.1% early this year.
Angola's central bank has taken steps to alleviate the burden on investors. During its latest meeting, it reduced the liquidity absorption rate of investors by 100bps to 17.5% and relaxed the reserve requirement ratio for commercial banks by 100bps to 20%.
Looking ahead to 2026, Sub-Saharan African countries are expected to maintain high sovereign bond yields. South Africa's local currency bond yields are forecasted to fall to around 8.0% by end-2026, reflecting an easing from current levels. However, countries like Angola face elevated sovereign default fears which may imply higher yields. Ghana is also easing monetary policy rapidly, suggesting declining yields there. Specific yield rates for other Sub-Saharan African countries in 2026 are not provided in the sources consulted.
Nigeria unanimously maintained its interest rate on sovereign bond benchmark at 27.50% after a 20 February 2025 meeting. The government of Gambia pegged the interest rate on its sovereign bond at 17% and has maintained an average of 17.42% since 2002. Malawi has agreed to benchmark its interest rate at 26%.
Reports indicate that the government of Sierra Leone reached an all-time high of 27.00% in October 2000 but slumped to its lowest interest rate of 9.50% in March 2015.
