As African nations grapple with global uncertainty and severe regional challenges, the effects of low current account balances can constitute an urgent concern.
Foreign exchange reserves are depleted by low current account balances because governments use them to pay for deficits.
Furthermore, several African countries turn to borrowing from external sources to cover current account deficits.
A vicious cycle is produced by the reliance on loans, as growing deficits prompt more borrowing, which raises the cost of debt payment and puts more strain on already scarce resources.
As global interest rates remain high in 2025, repaying foreign debt has grown more costly, reducing the amount of money available for expenditures in vital areas like infrastructure, healthcare, and education.
With that said here are the African countries projected to have the lowest current account balance in 2025, as per the IMF’s World Economic Output report.
| Rank | Country | Current Account Balance (% of GDP) 2025 projection |
|---|---|---|
|
1. |
Mozambique |
–30.0% |
|
2. |
Liberia |
–21.9% |
|
3. |
Burundi |
–21.8% |
|
4. |
Namibia |
–17.0% |
|
5. |
Malawi |
–13.8% |
|
6. |
Rwanda |
–11.0% |
|
7. |
Seychelles |
–10.1% |
|
8. |
Somalia |
–9.0% |
|
9. |
Guinea |
–8.8% |
|
10. |
Mauritania |
–8.7% |
Current account balance
In the framework of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO), the current account balance is a gauge of a nation’s global financial standing.
It is the sum of a nation’s net foreign income, net current transfers, and the value of its imports and exports of goods and services.
A surplus indicates that the country sells more than it imports, gaining more from foreign investments and remittances than it pays out.
A deficit indicates that the country purchases more than it exports spends more on foreign investments, or pays out more in remittances than it receives.
Additionally, a surplus implies that the country is a net lender to the rest of the world, whilst a deficit shows that it is a net borrower.
The IMF WEO employs the current account balance as a crucial statistic to examine global trade patterns, imbalances, and economic interdependence.
