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household debts in South Africa

Gross debt in South Africa

The government gross debt refers to the total of all sums of money that have to be paid to other countries, communities or institutions. Not included in the gross debt are the demands of a country to foreign ones.

The gross debt in South Africa in the period from 1998 to 2021 was between 41.1 billion and 289.0 billion USD. The highest level of the last years at 289 billion US Dollar was reached in 2021.

Based on the number of inhabitants, this is a debt of 4,866 USD per person. For comparison, the average debt per person in the same year in the European Union was 33,695 USD.


Back to overview: South Africa

Gross debt of the last 23 years in billion USD




YearSouth Africa totalSouth Africa per capitaEU per capita
199865.36 bn USD1,496 USD14,079 USD
199961.71 bn USD1,392 USD14,032 USD
200057.56 bn USD1,280 USD11,232 USD
200151.52 bn USD1,131 USD11,255 USD
200241.05 bn USD889 USD12,258 USD
200362.09 bn USD1,329 USD15,286 USD
200478.62 bn USD1,662 USD17,595 USD
200585.61 bn USD1,788 USD18,327 USD
200685.17 bn USD1,757 USD18,877 USD
200781.02 bn USD1,650 USD20,898 USD
200876.01 bn USD1,527 USD24,086 USD
200989.02 bn USD1,763 USD25,361 USD
2010130.16 bn USD2,541 USD26,496 USD
2011159.19 bn USD3,061 USD29,231 USD
2012162.50 bn USD3,076 USD28,174 USD
2013161.78 bn USD3,013 USD29,981 USD
2014164.88 bn USD3,023 USD30,648 USD
2015156.70 bn USD2,804 USD25,918 USD
2016152.52 bn USD2,703 USD26,261 USD
2017185.34 bn USD3,272 USD27,024 USD
2018208.86 bn USD3,642 USD28,448 USD
2019218.42 bn USD3,760 USD27,168 USD
2020232.96 bn USD3,962 USD30,783 USD
2021289.03 bn USD4,866 USD33,695 USD


Comparison of gross debt per capita with the European Union in U.S. dollars



      South Africa       European Union


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