Burkina Faso vs Ethiopia: Government debt

Government debt: 53.2% of GDP in Burkina Faso in 2025 and 33.5% of GDP in Ethiopia in 2024, by IMF estimates. In 2024 the value was higher in Burkina Faso, by 23.8 percentage points, or 1.71 times that in Ethiopia.

Watch it change on the map

% of GDP · IMF

Burkina FasoEthiopiaIMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026)

What the numbers say

Burkina Faso has been higher since 2021, when it overtook Ethiopia.
The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Burkina Faso at 49.7% of GDP and Ethiopia at 27.5% of GDP in 2031.

Every year

% of GDP · IMF

Year	Burkina Faso	Ethiopia
2025	53.2	43.3
2024	57.3	33.5
2023	56.8	38.7
2022	59.2	47
2021	55.5	53.8
2020	45	53.3
2019	41.7	54.7
2018	38.1	58.5
2017	33.9	55.3
2016	32.9	51.8
2015	31.3	50.7
2014	26.1	44.2
2013	25.9	44.1
2012	25.2	39.4
2011	24.5	44.6
2010	23.7	39.4
2009	25.9	30
2008	24.9	56.1
2007	22.4	55.7
2006	20.1	79.6
2005	39.2	78.2
2004	40.7	103.1
2003	39.7	103.7
2002	43.3	107.4
2001	–	97.3
2000	–	93.6
1999	–	97.8
1998	–	89.3
1997	–	80.3
1996	–	132.8
1995	–	146.6
1994	–	155.2
1993	–	141
1992	–	87.9

12.3Projected

IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031

Year	Burkina Faso	Ethiopia
2026	51	40.7
2027	50.9	37
2028	51	34.2
2029	50.4	31.8
2030	50	29.7
2031	49.7	27.5

Each country on its own

Good to know

What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
Ranks count the 149 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.

How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time

Burkina Faso vs Ethiopia

Health

People

Economy

Education

Politics

Conflict

Deaths in conflictsBurkina Faso: 2,595 deaths in 2022Ethiopia: 102,900 deaths in 2022