Domestic credit to private sector by banks in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Domestic credit to private sector by banks was 24.7% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Domestic credit to private sector by banks in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1963–2023
Source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for domestic credit to private sector by banks in Sub-Saharan Africa is 24.7%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 9.3% on the previous year and down 3.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, domestic credit to private sector by banks in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 30.6% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 6.0%, in 1963.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 40th of 47 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 59 years of available data.
Domestic credit to private sector by banks in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 6.0% | — |
| 1965 | 17.1% | +185.7% |
| 1966 | 16.7% | -2.1% |
| 1967 | 18.0% | +7.8% |
| 1968 | 18.2% | +1.0% |
| 1969 | 18.4% | +0.9% |
| 1970 | 18.8% | +2.2% |
| 1971 | 20.4% | +8.7% |
| 1972 | 19.7% | -3.4% |
| 1973 | 21.3% | +8.0% |
| 1974 | 20.4% | -4.4% |
| 1975 | 21.2% | +4.1% |
| 1976 | 19.5% | -8.3% |
| 1977 | 20.0% | +2.7% |
| 1978 | 21.1% | +5.5% |
| 1979 | 21.0% | -0.2% |
| 1980 | 21.9% | +4.1% |
| 1981 | 17.4% | -20.5% |
| 1982 | 18.0% | +3.2% |
| 1983 | 21.1% | +17.4% |
| 1984 | 21.7% | +2.9% |
| 1985 | 19.4% | -10.7% |
| 1986 | 21.3% | +9.9% |
| 1987 | 23.1% | +8.6% |
| 1988 | 23.8% | +2.7% |
| 1989 | 23.8% | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 23.1% | -2.7% |
| 1992 | 27.8% | +20.3% |
| 1993 | 26.3% | -5.7% |
| 1994 | 27.1% | +3.1% |
| 1995 | 24.6% | -9.1% |
| 1996 | 22.7% | -7.7% |
| 1997 | 23.5% | +3.5% |
| 1998 | 23.5% | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 29.8% | +27.0% |
| 2000 | 28.4% | -4.9% |
| 2001 | 29.7% | +4.7% |
| 2002 | 22.6% | -24.0% |
| 2003 | 26.5% | +17.3% |
| 2004 | 27.5% | +3.8% |
| 2005 | 27.4% | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 27.9% | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 30.0% | +7.6% |
| 2008 | 28.7% | -4.3% |
| 2009 | 30.6% | +6.6% |
| 2010 | 28.9% | -5.5% |
| 2011 | 27.5% | -4.8% |
| 2012 | 27.1% | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 25.6% | -5.2% |
| 2014 | 25.6% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 26.9% | +5.1% |
| 2016 | 27.5% | +2.1% |
| 2017 | 27.0% | -1.8% |
| 2018 | 25.6% | -5.1% |
| 2019 | 22.6% | -11.7% |
| 2020 | 23.3% | +2.8% |
| 2021 | 23.4% | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 22.6% | -3.4% |
| 2023 | 24.7% | +9.3% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Domestic credit to private sector by banks in Sub-Saharan Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | +185.7% | 6.0% | 17.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 15.7% | 6.0% | 18.4% | 6 |
| 1970s | 20.3% | 18.8% | 21.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 21.1% | 17.4% | 23.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 25.4% | 22.7% | 29.8% | 9 |
| 2000s | 27.9% | 22.6% | 30.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 26.4% | 22.6% | 28.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 23.5% | 22.6% | 24.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More financial sector data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, annual growth rate 5.14 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, US dollar, per capita 1.75 units per person (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, annual growth rate 0.1205 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0008 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve position in the IMF, SDR, per capita 1.28 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, annual growth rate 5.14 % change on previous year (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, US dollar, per capita 1.75 units per person (2025)
- Reserve tranche position, SDR, annual growth rate 0.1205 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is domestic credit to private sector by banks in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Domestic credit to private sector by banks in Sub-Saharan Africa was 24.7% in 2023, according to International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest domestic credit to private sector by banks recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 30.6% in 2009.
- What is the lowest domestic credit to private sector by banks recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.0% in 1963.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for domestic credit to private sector by banks?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 40th out of 47 groups with data for 2023.
- Is domestic credit to private sector by banks rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 59 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Domestic credit to private sector by banks refers to financial resources provided to the private sector by other depository corporations (deposit taking corporations except central banks), such as through loans, purchases of nonequity securities, and trade credits and other accounts receivable, that establish a claim for repayment. For some countries these claims include credit to public enterprises. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.