Historic Milestone: Africa Leaves Debt Crisis Behind

For the first time in over ten years, no African country is in sovereign debt distress — a hopeful shift for the continent’s financial future.

“We have observed fundamental improvements across several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, aided by IMF programmes, as well as some domestically driven reform stories,” said Joseph Cuthbertson, a sovereign analyst at PineBridge Investments.

This milestone was reached when Mozambique’s bond-yield spread fell below 1,000 basis points over U.S. Treasuries, removing the last country from what’s considered “distress territory.” Since 2015, many African nations have seen spreads above this threshold. Policy reforms, inflation control, and successful debt restructurings have helped pull the entire region back. It shows that deliberate action can change what once seemed inevitable, and that Africa now has a firmer footing as it builds its economic future.