Morocco’s external debt  soars to $69.267 million in 2023

A recent World Bank Group report, the International Debt Report 2024, revealed that Morocco’s total external debt climbed to $69.267 million in 2023, up from $27.3 million in 2010, while detailing the composition of this debt and the terms of its new borrowing commitments.

This amount includes various categories of debt, with the majority stemming from long-term external obligations.

Public and publicly guaranteed debt represents the largest share at $45,117 million, primarily driven by multilateral creditors, which account for 49% of the debt. Key contributors include the World Bank-IBRD (20%, holding $9,423 million) and the African Development Bank (10%).

Private creditors hold a substantial 36% of the debt portfolio for 2023, with bondholders accounting for 27% and other commercial creditors 9%. Bilateral creditors hold 15%, with countries like France and Germany contributing a combined 10%.

The report also indicated that external debt stocks represented 110% of exports and 50% of Gross National Income (GNI) in 2023. In terms of debt service, it accounted for 9% of exports and 4% of GNI.

As to financial flows, the kingdom recorded net financial flows totaling $3,921 million, which includes net debt inflows of $2,932 million and net equity inflows of $989 million.

Long-term external debt stocks dominated this increase, as mentioned, climbing from $23.7 million to $55.3 million during the period. Public and publicly guaranteed debt accounted for $45.1 million in 2023, with official creditors, particularly multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, increasing their contributions from $10.2 million to $21.1 million.

The report also indicated that private creditors also sharply increased their lending, with bondholder debt rising from $1.3 million in 2010 to $12.5 million in 2023. Also, short-term external debt stocks grew from $2.7 million in 2010 to $10.2 million in 2023.

The use of IMF credit and SDR allocations peaked at $4.08 million in 2021, but slightly decreased to $3.9 million in 2023, according to the same source, noting a rise in SDR allocations, which grew from $865,000 in 2010 to $1.9 million in 2023.

Long-term debt disbursements, which had peaked at $9.3 million in 2020, stabilized at $6.4 million in 2023, added the report, while principal repayments rose from $2.4 million in 2010 to $3.6 million in 2023. Interest payments on long-term debt nearly doubled, increasing from $851,000 in 2010 to $1.4 million in 2023.