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Economy · Africa ranking

Lending Interest Rate by African country

68.9%Zimbabwe leads · 2024

Zimbabwe has the highest bank lending interest rate of any African country, at 68.9%, ahead of Madagascar and Malawi.

Bank rate that usually meets the short- and medium-term financing needs of the private sector. 42 of 54 countries, ranked · World Bank — World Development Indicators, 2024.

#1 vs #4213×Zimbabwe vs Togo
Median11.2%Burundi
Lowest5.3%Togo

By region

regional average
East Africa20.2%
14 countries · led by Madagascar
Central Africa20.2%
3 countries · led by Democratic Republic of the Congo
Southern Africa18.5%
7 countries · led by Zimbabwe
North Africa12.8%
3 countries · led by Egypt
West Africa10.1%
15 countries · led by Gambia

Full ranking

42 of 54 countries
#CountryLending Interest RatePeriod
1Zimbabwe
68.9%2024
2Madagascar
60%2024
3Malawi
37.1%2024
4Somalia
33.7%1988
5Egypt
24.3%2024
6Democratic Republic of the Congo
23.3%2021
7Gambia
22%2024
8Mozambique
21.7%2024
9Sierra Leone
20.6%2024
10Uganda
19.8%2018
11Angola
19.4%2024
12Sao Tome and Principe
17.8%2024
13Mauritania
17%2017
14Tanzania
16.7%2020
15Kenya
16.6%2024
16Rwanda
16%2024
17South Sudan
14.7%2024
18Nigeria
14%2023
19Liberia
13.3%2017
20Guinea
12.9%2001
21South Africa
11.6%2024
22Burundi
11.2%2023
23Lesotho
11.2%2024
24Namibia
11%2024
25Eswatini
10.9%2024
26Seychelles
9.8%2024
27Zambia
9.5%2020
28Mauritius
9.4%2024
29Comoros
8%2022
30Algeria
8%2024
31Ethiopia
8%2008
32Cabo Verde
7.8%2024
33Botswana
6.3%2024
34Benin
6.3%2021
35Burkina Faso
6.3%2021
36Libya
6%2014
37Cote d'Ivoire
5.3%2016
38Guinea-Bissau
5.3%2016
39Mali
5.3%2016
40Niger
5.3%2016
41Senegal
5.3%2016
42Togo
5.3%2016

Get this ranking via API

GET /v1/data

One call to /v1/data returns the latest Lending Interest Rate figure for every country you pass — JSON, with source metadata on each observation.

curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/data?metric_key=lending_interest_rate_pct&latest=true&country_codes=NG,KE,ZA,EG" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"

Cite or republish this ranking

Data: Africa APIWorld Bank — World Development Indicators, 2024. Free to republish with a link to this page. Pull the live figures via the API above so your version never goes stale.

Embed this ranking

free · auto-updating

Drop this chart into your article or site — it stays live as the data updates. Paste the snippet anywhere HTML is allowed (a citation link is included).

<iframe src="https://africa-api.com/embed/lending-rate" width="100%" height="560" loading="lazy" style="border:1px solid #e3e3e3;border-radius:10px;max-width:640px" title="Lending Interest Rate by African country — Africa API"></iframe>
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Frequently asked questions

Which African country has the highest bank lending interest rate?

Zimbabwe has the highest bank lending interest rate in Africa at 68.9% (2024), followed by Madagascar and Malawi.

Which African country has the lowest bank lending interest rate?

Togo has the lowest bank lending interest rate of the 42 African countries with data, at 5.3% (2016).

How many African countries report Lending Interest Rate data?

42 of 54 African countries have a recent Lending Interest Rate figure in the Africa API. Each value links to the country's full series with source and history.

How do I get this ranking via API?

Call GET /v1/data?metric_key=lending_interest_rate_pct&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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