Economy · Africa ranking
Budget Balance by African country
Lesotho has the highest general government fiscal balance as a share of GDP of any African country, at 4.2% — 1.6× Eritrea's 2.7%.
General government net lending (surplus) or borrowing (deficit) as a percentage of GDP. 54 of 54 countries, ranked · IMF MACRO FINANCIAL, 2026.
Latest available year varies by country (2019–2026); each row shows its year, and values more than 5 years behind the most recent are marked ⚠.
Lesotho
Eritrea
South SudanBy region
Full ranking
| # | Country | Budget Balance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lesotho | 4.2% | |
| 2 | Eritrea | 2.7% ⚠ ’19 | |
| 3 | South Sudan | 1.4% | |
| 4 | Sao Tome and Principe | 1% | |
| 5 | Mauritania | 0.5% | |
| 6 | Republic of the Congo | 0.4% | |
| 7 | Djibouti | -0.5% | |
| 8 | Somalia | -0.6% | |
| 9 | Zimbabwe | -0.8% | |
| 10 | Cabo Verde | -0.9% | |
| 11 | Gambia | -1% | |
| 12 | Comoros | -1.1% | |
| 13 | Chad | -1.4% | |
| 14 | Liberia | -1.6% | |
| 15 | Cameroon | -1.7% | |
| 16 | Equatorial Guinea | -1.7% | |
| 17 | Ethiopia | -1.8% | |
| 18 | Seychelles | -2.1% | |
| 19 | Sierra Leone | -2.2% | |
| 20 | Ghana | -2.3% | |
| 21 | Angola | -2.4% | |
| 22 | Mali | -2.4% | |
| 23 | Burundi | -2.5% | |
| 24 | Benin | -2.9% | |
| 25 | Cote d'Ivoire | -3% | |
| 26 | Mauritius | -3.1% | |
| 27 | Tanzania | -3.2% | |
| 28 | Burkina Faso | -3.5% | |
| 29 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | -3.5% | |
| 30 | Morocco | -3.5% | |
| 31 | Niger | -3.7% | |
| 32 | Guinea-Bissau | -4% | |
| 33 | Rwanda | -4.3% | |
| 34 | Nigeria | -4.4% | |
| 35 | Sudan | -4.4% | |
| 36 | Madagascar | -4.6% | |
| 37 | South Africa | -4.9% | |
| 38 | Zambia | -4.9% | |
| 39 | Central African Republic | -5% | |
| 40 | Guinea | -5% | |
| 41 | Uganda | -5.9% | |
| 42 | Namibia | -6.1% | |
| 43 | Kenya | -6.4% | |
| 44 | Mozambique | -6.5% | |
| 45 | Senegal | -6.7% | |
| 46 | Togo | -6.7% | |
| 47 | Eswatini | -6.9% | |
| 48 | Tunisia | -7.4% | |
| 49 | Gabon | -10% | |
| 50 | Algeria | -10.2% | |
| 51 | Malawi | -10.5% | |
| 52 | Botswana | -10.7% | |
| 53 | Egypt | -12.1% | |
| 54 | Libya | -20.9% |
Sao Tome and Principe
Mauritania
Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Somalia
Zimbabwe
Cabo Verde
Gambia
Comoros
Chad
Liberia
Cameroon
Equatorial Guinea
Ethiopia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Ghana
Angola
Mali
Burundi
Benin
Cote d'Ivoire
Mauritius
Tanzania
Burkina Faso
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Morocco
Niger
Guinea-Bissau
Rwanda
Nigeria
Sudan
Madagascar
South Africa
Zambia
Central African Republic
Guinea
Uganda
Namibia
Kenya
Mozambique
Senegal
Togo
Eswatini
Tunisia
Gabon
Algeria
Malawi
Botswana
Egypt
LibyaGet this ranking via API
One call to /v1/data returns the latest Budget Balance figure for every country you pass — JSON, with source metadata on each observation.
curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/data?metric_key=fiscal_balance_pct_gdp&latest=true&country_codes=NG,KE,ZA,EG" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"Cite or republish this ranking
Data: Africa API — IMF MACRO FINANCIAL, 2026. Free to republish with a link to this page. Pull the live figures via the API above so your version never goes stale.
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Frequently asked questions
Which African country has the highest general government fiscal balance as a share of GDP?
Lesotho has the highest general government fiscal balance as a share of GDP in Africa at 4.2% (2026), followed by Eritrea and South Sudan.
Which African country has the lowest general government fiscal balance as a share of GDP?
Libya has the lowest general government fiscal balance as a share of GDP of the 54 African countries with data, at -20.9% (2026).
How many African countries report Budget Balance data?
54 of 54 African countries have a Budget Balance figure in the Africa API, each from the latest year available for that country (which can differ between countries, here 2019–2026). Every value links to its full series with source and history.
How do I get this ranking via API?
Call GET /v1/data?metric_key=fiscal_balance_pct_gdp&latest=true with the country codes you need and a free Africa API key — the response returns the latest value per country as JSON.
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