Rebasing gross domestic product (GDP) significantly changes the reading of the weight of Benin's public debt. In its September 2026 Economic Outlook, the World Bank states that debt stood at 59.3% of GDP in 2025 under the former statistical base, but should come to about 50% of GDP once the rebased GDP is taken into account.
The same exercise leads to a revision of the debt ratio for 2024 from 60.5% to 51.1% of GDP. This change does not reflect a repayment of debt: the amount of commitments to creditors remains unchanged solely as a result of the revision of the GDP measure. It is the denominator of the ratio that rises.
In % of GDP
Source: World Bank, Benin Economic Update, September 2026, notes on pages xv and 17
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| Previous base | Rebased GDP | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 60.5 | 51.1 |
| 2025 | 59.3 | 50 |
External debt accounts for nearly 80% of the total
On the former base used in the report's tables, external debt reaches 47.2% of GDP in 2025 and represents 79.6% of total public debt, compared with 78.3% in 2024. Domestic debt, by contrast, falls to 12.1% of GDP. The report stresses that reliance on external financing remains significant.
The World Bank notably mentions a euro bond issue in 2025 carrying a rate of 6.48% and a sixteen-year maturity. It also recalls the buyback, in January 2025, of 250 million euros of bonds maturing in 2032, an operation associated with savings of about 20 million euros.
A debt distress risk still rated moderate
The February 2026 debt sustainability analysis maintains Benin's classification at moderate risk of external and overall debt distress. However, the World Bank flags limited capacity to absorb shocks, in particular in the event of a fall in export earnings or a tightening of financing conditions.
The budget deficit came in at 2.7% of GDP in 2025, below the community ceiling of 3% for the first time since 2019. In the projection using the former GDP base, the public debt ratio is expected to fall to 53.3% in 2028. The World Bank specifies that rebasing will be incorporated in a forthcoming modelling cycle.