A recent research study indicated that the escalation of the crisis in Ukraine has affected the ability of African countries to repay their debts and has caused structural financial issues in 22 African countries, which are the poorest in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially those countries indebted to China.
The study, issued by the World Bank on “Debt Markets in Africa,” pointed out that Africa has been an actual destination for around 12% of China’s international lending to both private and public sectors.
The total Chinese loans to African countries increased almost five-fold from 2000 to 2020, reaching $696 billion.
The World Bank placed the Republic of Angola at the top of the list of nine African countries with the highest debt to China. It stated that Angola’s debt to China amounted to approximately $42.916 billion until March 2023. Ethiopia ranked second in Africa with a significant difference, as its total debt to China reached around $13.728 billion.
The report revealed that Zambia ranked third among the African countries indebted to China, with a total debt of $13.848 billion. Following Zambia is Kenya in fourth place, with a total debt to China amounting to approximately $9.175 billion.
The total debt of Nigeria to China, which ranked fifth, amounted to $6.732 billion. Following Nigeria is Cameroon in the sixth position, with a total debt of approximately $6.702 billion due to be repaid to China.
Sudan ranked seventh in terms of the highest debt to China, with a total of $6.169 billion, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo with a value of $5.308 billion.
In ninth place, Ghana had a total debt to China of around $5.308 billion, followed by Ivory Coast in tenth place among African countries with the highest debt to China, totaling approximately $3.722 billion.
A few days ago, a recent report warned of the dangers of the ongoing Russian war in Ukraine, pointing out the possibility of around 23 African countries facing bankruptcy due to the worsening sovereign debt crisis.
The report issued by Inter Regional for Strategic Analysis pointed out that the Russian-Ukrainian war has caused several economic repercussions on the global economy.
These repercussions have manifested in slowing growth, rising food prices, trade disruptions, supply chain disruptions, and financial remittance effects, especially in the countries neighboring Ukraine.