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Vol 67 No 5

Published 6th March 2026


Senegal

Sonko’s last stand as debt trap closes in

With the economy in technical default and a student killed in campus protests, the prime minister may be forced to accept an IMF-debt restructuring

Senegal’s government is sliding toward a financial reckoning. Now Africa's most indebted country – its debts are estimated at 132% of GDP after a post-election audit exposed US$7 billion in liabilities hidden by former president Macky Sall – it has defaulted on payments to some foreign government creditors, with repayments to France believed to have gone beyond the 90-day grace period that defines a ‘technical’ default. In total, US$1.3bn in repayments falls due next month.

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