CFA not M&.k

E/ECA/TRADE/10/ M&.k

I. INTRODUCTION

l. The external indebtedness of the African countries is not a nevr phenomenon, Fost of the countries.inherited fairly huge debts £t the tiiae of independence* ..- Such debts were contracted by the former colonial administrations but were later transferred to the newly independent nations as port of the freedom package deal.

2. The purpose of this note ic to show the magnitude of the external debts which were in existence either prior to independence or immediately there after. T'Jherfe exact data is not available, the debts are given for a period closest to the date of independence on the assumption that these might have evolved from the colonial period.

3. The information in the Table shows that a number of countries inherited huge external debts when they became independent. For instance, in the case of Zimbabwe

the debt was as high as $693.5 million. For small countries such as Sao Tome and Principe, the debt in 1973, that is two years before independence stood at 468.8

million Escudos, while Cape Verde had 1.1 billion Escudos* The Ivory Coast owed

8.6 billion CFA T*hen she got independence in I960 while Mauritania owed $66.0

E/ECA/TRADE/10/ Add. 4

External Debt of African Countries at ticae of Independence

Coiontry- Date of Independence External Debt

Algeria

Angola Benin Botswana Burundi Cape Verde

Central African Republic

Comoro Congo Dj ibouti Egypt

3 July 1962

11 November 1975

1 August 19&

JO September 1966 I July 1962

5 July 1975

13 August I960 II August I960 6 July 19:5

15 August I960 26 June 197^

23 July 1952

1 326*8/5 million of US D.

(1965)

3 497.2 million Escudos (197?) 40 million of USt (1962)

10.C million of US$

222 rail lion of Burundi Francs

1 096 353 (1000 Escudos) (1972) 2.4 million of US $ (1962) 20.6/5 million of US & (356?)

4,7 million of US&

70.0/5 millions of US$

N.A.

1 661.8/5 million of US$ (1965)

Sources: Public Debt in African Countries Work Sheet/Stat/Div. ECA

External Indebtedness of /.frican Countries, E/ECA./TRADE/10, Oct. 19B

Hor-ld Debt Tables. World Bank Dec, '-574

E/ECA/TRADE/10/Add.4

(cont'd)

Country Date of Indenendence External Debt

Equatorial Guinea Ethiopia

Gabon

Gambia (The)

Ghana Guinea

Guinea Bissau Ivory Coast Kenya

Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi

Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Ffozambique Niger Nigeria Rwanda

Sao Tome & Principe Senegal

Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia Sudan Swaziland

12 October Ig£-.

6 /z>ril 1941 17 August I960 13 February 196$

6 [arch 1957 2 October 195-3

12 Deceber 1963 4 October 1966 26 July 1947 t

26 June I960 6 July 1964

22 September i960 2? November i960

12 ?'"arch 1968 2 Inarch 1956

3 August I960 1 October i960 I July 1962

20 August I960 23 June 1976 27 April 1961

1 July I960 1 Jan. 1956 6 September i960 27 April I960

N. A.

32O6 i,il lions of IT $ (1955) 51,0 million of US $ (1962)

£\5/5 million of TJS£

1207 million Cedis (i960) 115.3 irdllion of IIS 5 (1962) 763 7?9 (1000 Escudos) (1972)

C 66-1 ruillions of CFA francs 65 udllion of Kfe

6.2 million of US$

70.0 millions of US$ (1955)

N.AO

P7/7/5 millions of US$ (1965)

40 33G thousand Kt^achas

225.5/5 millions of US5 (l9?5) 6690 millions of USj (196^) 32,4 millions of OSS

250 millions of US$ (1955) 2 934o5 trillion Escudos (1973) 7O1 millions of US& (l96l) 115.4 :;iilliorLc of W$

1.3 millions of US| (l9^S 468 821 (100C Eccudos) (19^3)

45«3 millions of US!

0.6 millions of US?

50.0 millions of US3 (1962) 2C.0 millions of V8$ (1962)

9.0 r.:illions of IS?

35*4 millions of USJ

S/ECA/TRALK/10/ Add. 4 Page 4

Country Date of Independence

Tunisia Uganda •

Ifoited Rep. of Cameroon United Republic of Tanzani;

Upper Volta Zaire

Zambia Zimbabwe

?,0 liarch 195'-

9 October 1962

1 January I960 9 December 19^1 5 /mgust I960 30 June I960 24 October 19^-4

External Debt

50.0 millions of' TJS« (19^5) ' 641 million Shillings (19^3) 43.0 millions of SSS (1962) 4C0.0 million GhillingG (1962) 37.C millions of US? (1962)

24G 470 thousand Zcires

?9 116 thousand KTiachas

693.5 millions of US£

Information for Djibouti, Equatorial G;.inei erA Libya is not available,

2. Where information is not available at ti^e of independence, for aon-e countries the nearest year tc the date of independence vas taken for compiling -tfexs statistics. This was either a fexr years before or a feu years after

independence.