Economy · Africa ranking
Real Interest Rate by African country
Madagascar has the highest real interest rate of any African country, at 47.6% — 2.5× Mozambique's 18.7%.
Lending interest rate adjusted for inflation as measured by the GDP deflator. 42 of 54 countries, ranked · World Bank — World Development Indicators, 2025.
Latest available year varies by country (1988–2025); each row shows its year, and values more than 5 years behind the most recent are marked ⚠.
Madagascar
Mozambique
Sierra LeoneBy region
Full ranking
| # | Country | Real Interest Rate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madagascar | 47.6% | |
| 2 | Mozambique | 18.7% | |
| 3 | Sierra Leone | 18.3% | |
| 4 | Liberia | 16.3% ⚠ ’17 | |
| 5 | Mauritania | 15.2% ⚠ ’17 | |
| 6 | Uganda | 14.7% ⚠ ’18 | |
| 7 | Gambia | 13.1% | |
| 8 | Kenya | 13% | |
| 9 | Guinea | 10.9% ⚠ ’01 | |
| 10 | Malawi | 10% | |
| 11 | Tanzania | 9.6% ⚠ ’20 | |
| 12 | Eswatini | 9.5% | |
| 13 | South Africa | 7.7% | |
| 14 | Rwanda | 7.3% | |
| 15 | Algeria | 7.2% | |
| 16 | Libya | 7.1% ⚠ ’14 | |
| 17 | Seychelles | 7.1% | |
| 18 | Cote d'Ivoire | 6.6% ⚠ ’16 | |
| 19 | Namibia | 6.4% | |
| 20 | Burkina Faso | 6.1% | |
| 21 | Cabo Verde | 5.9% | |
| 22 | Lesotho | 4.9% | |
| 23 | Mauritius | 4.9% | |
| 24 | Benin | 4.6% | |
| 25 | Senegal | 4.3% ⚠ ’16 | |
| 26 | Botswana | 4.2% | |
| 27 | Togo | 3.8% ⚠ ’16 | |
| 28 | Mali | 3.6% ⚠ ’16 | |
| 29 | Nigeria | 2.9% | |
| 30 | Niger | 2.6% ⚠ ’16 | |
| 31 | Guinea-Bissau | 2.5% ⚠ ’16 | |
| 32 | Sao Tome and Principe | 0.1% | |
| 33 | Comoros | 0% | |
| 34 | Angola | -0.9% | |
| 35 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | -3.5% | |
| 36 | Zambia | -3.9% ⚠ ’20 | |
| 37 | Burundi | -4.9% | |
| 38 | Egypt | -7% | |
| 39 | Ethiopia | -17.1% ⚠ ’08 | |
| 40 | Somalia | -18.5% ⚠ ’88 | |
| 41 | Zimbabwe | -20.1% | |
| 42 | South Sudan | -55% |
Liberia
Mauritania
Uganda
Gambia
Kenya
Guinea
Malawi
Tanzania
Eswatini
South Africa
Rwanda
Algeria
Libya
Seychelles
Cote d'Ivoire
Namibia
Burkina Faso
Cabo Verde
Lesotho
Mauritius
Benin
Senegal
Botswana
Togo
Mali
Nigeria
Niger
Guinea-Bissau
Sao Tome and Principe
Comoros
Angola
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Zambia
Burundi
Egypt
Ethiopia
Somalia
Zimbabwe
South SudanGet this ranking via API
One call to /v1/data returns the latest Real 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=real_interest_rate_pct&latest=true&country_codes=NG,KE,ZA,EG" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"Cite or republish this ranking
Data: Africa API — World Bank — World Development Indicators, 2025. 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
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).
Frequently asked questions
Which African country has the highest real interest rate?
Madagascar has the highest real interest rate in Africa at 47.6% (2025), followed by Mozambique and Sierra Leone.
Which African country has the lowest real interest rate?
South Sudan has the lowest real interest rate of the 42 African countries with data, at -55% (2025).
How many African countries report Real Interest Rate data?
42 of 54 African countries have a Real Interest Rate figure in the Africa API, each from the latest year available for that country (which can differ between countries, here 1988–2025). 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=real_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.
More economy rankings