Senegal's $44 billion debt dilemma: to whom does it owe money and why it matters

Senegal's debt problems emerged in 2024 after leaders revealed misreported debts, pushing debt to GDP to roughly 130% when state-owned enterprise and government-guaranteed debt were included. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye said the government is targeting a debt treatment within months. Senegal could seek longer maturities or lower interest rates, but the debt burden could make avoiding investor losses difficult.

France and China are Senegal's largest bilateral creditors and are widely expected to co-chair talks on behalf of the Paris Club, though the group has made no announcement. The IMF, World Bank and some other multilateral lenders are shielded from losses, as are typically short-term export credit facilities. Multilateral lenders held about 40% of external debt in 2024, with export credit accounting for another 9%, leaving roughly half the external debt stock potentially subject to relief.

Senegal says CFA franc-denominated debt, including retail investor bonds and regional market debt, is not part of the rework. Regional issuance more than doubled to 2.2 trillion CFA francs last year and reached 2 trillion CFA francs by end-August; regional debt represents nearly 58% of debt-servicing costs in the revised 2026 budget. Senegal also raised $1.26 billion in net financing by end-2025 through total return swaps, which the IMF counts as external debt.